


Gods, Wolves and Puppies

by NevaRYadL



Series: The Rise, Fall and Rise again of Overwatch, Otherwise Known as Gaywatch [3]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, And he cares about his bro, Arranged Marriage, Best McCree, But not between anyone or over gender or sexual identity, But they aren't really yakuza, Chubby Jesse McCree, Eventual Happy Ending, Fingering, Genji Shimada is NOT a little shit, Hanzo never left his clan, Light Angst, M/M, More over trauma and being fucked over by abusers, NOT A/B/O SERIOUSLY, Okami Hanzo Shimada, Oral Sex, Overcoming Trauma, Penetrative Sex, Sort Of, They try but Hanzo doesn't let that shit fly, Trans Hanzo Shimada, Trans character topping, Werewolf Jesse McCree, chubby hanzo, mlm author and trans mlm beta/cowriter, why isn't that a tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-02-01 11:34:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 101,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12704214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NevaRYadL/pseuds/NevaRYadL
Summary: The Shimada pack, a group of powerful and old Okami, find themselves losing their godhood in their new generations. But with so few Okami left that have not gone feral or are outright put off by the Shimada pack's reputation as yakuza, the Shimada family has few ways to combat this. They must seek other sources for strong pups. But while this happens, someone else uses this opportunity to find the current pack head a suitable and emotionally fulfilling mate.But when the family cracks and breaks away from its purist ways, all sorts of things that were hidden by the surface are revealed. Assassination, murder, all sorts of plots; gods sure do get bored in their long lives and come up with the most mundane things to entertain themselves.





	1. Stepping Stones

**Author's Note:**

> I have no sense of self control, so please enjoy.
> 
> -Loosely based off my fantasy au  
> -Genji was not killed in this au but he is thought dead  
> -The timeline has been altered and extended to match the long lives of some fantasy creatures  
> -Some of my headcanons from my other stories will pop up  
> -Hanzo is trans in this  
> -Will NOT include alpha/beta/omega dynamics but instead actual wolf/pack instincts and dynamics

For centuries, the Shimada family had been one of the most powerful Okami family in the world. Since the time when mankind was young. 

Gods they were called, spirits they were called, some humans worshipped them, some feared them, some tried to hunt them but there’s a lesson in a spear or bow wielding human trying to hunt a wolf capable of great physical and magical feats. But still, as it was with many of the non-human creatures of the world when they realized that man was onto their existence, they took to hiding to prevent humans from going on mass hunts for the lot of them. Many non-humans, the Shimada pack including, started using a new magic known as ‘Glamor’, that could make humans perceive them as harmless and normal things, like another human or a human known animal or even objects. They hid away from the prying eyes of humans, hiding right under their noses.

For centuries, this worked, and only the brave or foolish were seen by humans. But they faded from the human’s minds, becoming myths and legends and scary stories to spook the naive. So they flourished without humans hounding their steps, setting up vast underground networks of non-human interactions and ways of finding (and keeping an eye) on one another. For centuries humans no longer thought that witches, werewolves, vampires, spirits and monster haunted the shadows of the world or the night. For centuries there was a sort of fragile peace between humans and non-humans.

And then of course, there was the Omnic Crisis.

There was always resentment between some of the humans and non-humans, and some more extreme sides of the coin, some went out of their way to hunt down and kill each other. Though no one was ever clear how it happened, someone thought it a smart idea to work exceptionally powerful god like spirits into AI programming and then unleash them. The results were a bloodbath, most for humans but some of the weaker non-humans as well and suddenly both sides found themselves working together to stop these rampaging monsters from slaughtering the mass of them.

Many non-humans shed their glamours so they could utilize the full potential of their power against the menace and the humans were faced with the fact that the the things that they thought legends and myths and scary stories were very real and some of them were very dangerous. But they were allies and they fought back against the ‘God AI’ that controlled a seemingly never ending supply of Omnic combatants. They fought and fought and fought… but they were losing. Even with non-humans fighting as much as they could and humans armed with the latest weapons and armor, the God AI and their machines were too much.

Then, something was done that almost made the non-humans turn right around on their allies. Under the nose of everyone, there was a program started to make soldiers powerful enough to fight in the war. The SEP program. This program took humans and non-humans alike, tore them apart and then stitched them back together with non-human parts and ‘super soldier’ chemicals and the results were something that were deemed ‘Eldritch Abominations’, man made non-humans that were horrors in every sense of the word. Non-humans deemed them something akin to Frankenstein's monster and an affront on their existence. Even more so when it became apparent that these creatures were highly unstable and prone to chronic mind breaking pain, insanity, wild and uncontrollable powers. 

But these creatures tore through the Omnic armies with ease and incapacitated the God AI that controlled them, bringing a swift end to the Omnic Crisis. 

But now there were other issues to contend with. Humans now knew of the existence of non-humans and there was no way to retreat once more into myth and legend. So non-humans publicly identified themselves, put themselves into the databases of humans by their true names, true natures, true selves. While there were those that hid, and those that proudly took the human world by storm and those that simply revealed themselves to avoid the bother of hiding.

The Shimada family were one such family, revealing themselves and quickly building an empire of human and non-human business. Through skills cultivated over centuries, the pack heads of the Shimada Pack only furthering their wealth and connections with each passing year. They became quite the leader in business in their home land, both on the human front and the non-human front.

But, eventually they began to notice… a new trouble.

The Shimada clan and its newer generations were losing their godhood.

They found in newer pups, that they lacked the ability to transform like their elders’ had once, or held compromised health that left them seeing medics and hospital rooms more than their own homes and dens. While this might have been chalked up to a few poor pups, the lack of ability to transform was extremely troubling and stories of olden times told them that it was when godhood and all the powers that came with it, were being water down. Only when the okami genes were thinned by human genetics did their god like abilities leave them.

Blame went on a number of things, except the thing that was the actual cause. Too many weak families with a lot of money marrying into the pack, bribing their way in to get a taste of that powerful and rich lifestyle that the Shimada family seemed to have about it. Now there were families that had forsaken their godhoods partially or entirely entering the family, making children with their godhoods robbed. Too many of Hanzo’s, the current pack head, supposed advisors that oversaw these things had become corrupt and greedy, willing to take the money for their own gains rather than make sure that the Shimada pack flourished as it should have. Money was nothing if they no longer tread the immortal’s path as gods, living shortened lives with hollow human compensation. Money would not help the children that were born ill and unable to cleanse their bodies of impurities as they should have been.

‘The pack had become soft and new aged’, words from Hanzo’s father’s corpse breathed into the thoughts of the latest pack head’s mind, ‘More focused on being human than just passing enough to not scare them’.

As head of the pack, Hanzo’s duties were making the larger decisions, the ‘important’ decisions that affected the immediate health of his pack, his clan. Breeding was viewed as a thing below him, but with the birth of yet another sickly child he could no longer stand by while these people continued to make children that would only suffer and pollute the clan with corrupt and greedy sires and carriers. 

For a number of years, Hanzo had stepped away from the issues of his family, let it be ‘handled’ by those it was deemed worthy for while he dealt with a number of personal problems. The death of his father, Genji’s exile from the clan and subsequent death, while Hanzo dealt with the crushing sadness that they had caused, he supposed that the clan’s wellbeing had fallen out of his priorities. So many years of wallowing and mourning had made him blind to anything but his own misery. 

But now the clan’s health was at the forefront of Hanzo’s mind, they had to be, else the clan would fall apart and... it was all that he had left. Hanzo had nothing else but the clan and he could not let it perish.

“You wished to speak to us, clan head?”

A meeting, the first that Hanzo had called in many years but one that was necessary and desperately needed. Now all of these council members were gathered in one of the larger meeting rooms, gazing at Hanzo with barely contained annoyance at their business being interrupted. Father had always said that he needed to rule with an iron fist and now he realized why. Gods were self obsessed by nature and if left without an iron fist around their throats to rule them, they slipped into old habits.

“I am putting a ban on the birth of any more children,” He said calmly, coldly. 

There was a rise out of his council, people who had grown too egotistical and forgot their place only seeing profits being ripped out of their hands and whining like spoiled adults. A harsh snarl and a casual ripple of his power sent them scrambling to sit properly and be quiet, reminding them who was the strongest wolf now. 

“Temporarily. The current stock is poor, if you have not seen the number of sick children, unable to transform that have sprung from recent marriages into the clan. We need to prioritize better stock, not how much money my supposedly _loyal_ council members can be bribed with to allow them into my pack.”

“Respectfully, clan leader,” One councilman spoke up. How he hated that uppity look in the bastard’s eyes, how he wanted to dig his teeth into that weak neck and made him yield. “Those that continue to breed for sheer stock, they are growing more and more wild, many choosing to lose the ability to appear human. If we sought these people out, they would be unwilling to strike any deals, and we would not be able to have them on the property, not near the human cities.”

A snarl silenced him. This one, he knew accepted bribes from mostly human families and his pockets were fat from being lined with massive bribes that polluted their stock. One of the mostly sickly new children came from a weak family that this bastard let in, a child never to see anything outside a sterilized hospital room.

“And if we continue along this path, we will be human and with what? Money? Some political power? Our family, _MY_ family, will be taken over by human like genes until we are no longer gods, vanishing like so many other gods before us. Or do you not remember how the world once teamed with our kind? Our voices ringing out over the small rock that we all merrily shared, now silenced by humans.”

There was a quiet but agreeing murmur.

The world was once filled with spirits, gods and powerful creatures that once called this wretched planet home. The world hummed with their combined power, something akin to music drifting through the air as they simply existed, leaving everything slightly buzzed with cosmic life. But humans polluted, humans killed, monsters forced themselves to be men and married and bred their powerful genes away. The world was quiet and darker since those days, so few of these inhuman creatures left that the world just seemed quieter and dead, like a sacked city of an extinct civilization left out of history and turned to nothingness.

“No more children, if a child is born after this day, the family is to be removed from the clan,” He commanded as he stood and stared down at his council, glaring down his nose and exerting his power over them to further his command. “From now on, arranged marriages meant to produce offspring are to focus on stock. If we have trouble finding stock then we will find a way to insure no more sickly children are born. The Shimada clan will flourish, we will not join the silenced voices of gods long passed, not while I live and breathe.”

While his council scrambled to get away from his rage, tripping over themselves to steer clear of him, leaving him alone with one brave soul. Though thankfully she _was_ brave, this one person that had kept his sanity over the years.

“Oba-san, you wish to speak,” Not a question, a statement, Rin only sought him him to speak with him, choosing to execute his will on her own time. Rin had been an lesser advisor to her father in her time, a crime truly because of her amazing skills, and was promoted when Hanzo took his father’s spot as clan head and had proven time and time again to be a steady fast and reliable ally.

“Yes, clan head,” Rin said quietly, “Might we seek a private place to speak? I may have an idea about our stock problem.”

“Of course.”

They left the meeting room to be cleaned by the staff, choosing to head to his personal office where a number of charms and hidden talismans kept wandering eyes and ears out of his business, though he rarely used it. There was something about a room that no one could listen or look into that seemed to make others prickly with suspicion and as clan head, he needed the loyalty of his pack, no matter how much he despised all of them.

Inside, he beckoned Rin to his desk, giving her the more cushioned one as a formality while sinking into the guest chair.

“You had an idea about our poor stock?” He asked.

“Yes, as it was pointed out, the stronger stocks are choosing to go wild rather than be anything remotely human,” Rin explained, producing a smart phone from within her kimono and tapping away on the screen with her sharpened talon tips. 

Finding what she was looking for, she slid it over for him to grab, frowning at the picture on screen already. Wolves, large ones, with the metallic marks on their fur that foretold of godhood, with red eyes and open snarling mouths like rabid muts. A sharp tisk escaped his teeth as he flicked through a number of photos that all told the same story, gods that had become little more than rabies filled mongrels. Disgusted, he gave her back the phone.

“There are three families left with the stock that would help us, but two are adamant about never joining us and one needs a lot of persuasion, mostly that we either take care of our ‘shadier’ business deals or insure that they can have plausible deniability that they had nothing to do with it,” Rin told him.

Shadier business deals… he cursed his father’s rotten corpse that the man let the clan deal with smuggling, weapons and illegal funding of even more illegal groups. It had taken him years or snuffing people out to cut down these horrid dealings and even to this day they persisted. Now his family’s name was sullied, once proud and noble family and now nothing better than yakuza. How far his clan had fallen because of his father’s last ailing days with a sickness rotted mind…

“Now, there might be a way to improve stock through smaller increments, though it might be… unpleasant in concept,” Rin said.

“That is?” He pushed.

“Some families have crossed bred with some of the… cryptids? Is that the word? The lesser creatures made from various ways off of gods, like tainted blood, bite infections, curses and the like,” She explained. “Werewolves, fairies, some spirits with tangible forms, some lesser demons, shapeshifters.”

“How does that solve our stock problem? You said it yourself, they are lesser creatures, many of whom if I am correct, are basically human?” He asked, arms crossing over his chest as he mulled the idea over.

“Yes, that is true, but there are ones that continue breeding with each other despite these curses and cursed forms and produce non human offspring. By doing this they breed out human genes and breed in something that is close to the genes that we are looking for. Some have gained exceptionally powerful members whose powers can rival the lesser gods,” Rin quickly explained, using her phone again to find pictures to illustrate her point.

Pictures of creatures that looked more like their curses, werewolves that resemble wolves more than humanoids, spirits that looked more like fea then any mortal creatures. Strange, these creatures that he once thought hateful of their curses seemed now to be embracing them, taking them and making something of it. But if that was true, that they were getting closer and closer to the pure strains of the god like genes that made his family powerful in the beginning, perhaps there was merit…

“Some would view this as purposefully tainting the line,” He pointed out, though already mulling the possibilities over. Perhaps a few select wolf shifter lines could be reasonably passed off as Okami, or close enough to appease the purists in his midst. 

It was not as though he had any particular pride for Okami, Hanzo was no fool to be caught in past pride though quick to weaponize it against the older okami in the family. All things change and sometimes things are simply not meant to be on this earth, and the only reason he cared now about these recent events was that it always deeply bothered him to see sick children and… the pack was all that he had and who knew what would happen if they were accused of forsaking their godhood. Not to mention it was really hard to ignore those inbred pack instincts and the prospects of ‘new family’ members had his base instincts buzzing with excitement. 

“Introducing creatures outside the okami and such.”

“Respectfully clan-head, unless we conquer the two other lines and manage to convince the other, that leaves only three lines left in the country, we would need to seek others in time regardless,” Rin said. “And there are hundreds of lines elsewhere and here of these creatures, hundreds of good lines with strong stock. One that I might add, would not be bribed in because of that awful ‘purist’.”

“I will think on this,” He said, though already pretty sure of his decision.

“Respectfully, clan-head,” Rin said, “It might be time to think of taking a mate for your own, perhaps?”

A snarl told her that this meeting was over and to get out. While she was not as frightened as his council, but she still jumped before quietly excusing herself and leaving quickly, leaving him alone with his thoughts in his office.

With a heavy sigh, he stood and went over to the sliding door, carefully pushing the door open and letting in the sunshine of the day in, along with the fresh air that he needed to clear his head. Stepping lightly, he wandered out into the garden that his office faced, the same one that his mother often stayed in when business or his father did not need her. There were many fond memories here from his earliest childhood memories, before he realized that his mother was as manipulative and as cruel as his father, memories of his mother’s sweet singing voice as she tended her garden, of playing with Genji as children, of warm summer naps and watching falling snow.

He chose the old cherry blossom that his mother had kept alive through the centuries with charms and spells. Sitting at the base in the shade, he pulled into existence his smoking pipe and lit it with a bit of power and gave it a few puffs. The rich smoke filled his lungs and gave him something to focus on other than the chaotic mess of his thoughts.

A mate of his own… what a joke. As his deceased father had said ‘ _You’ll never find a mate that will love you, Hanzo. Just one that wants something to fuck_.’ 

Breathing out smoke tinted black and red with his mounting rage, Hanzo kept smoking and festering in his own thoughts until it was time to rest, well beyond the stroke of midnight.

* * *

In a month’s time, he had executed three of his so called ‘loyal’ council that had tried to arrange marriages. Their heads were severed, their skulls clean and cleansed of their human shape and then put on spikes in the garden as a warning. There would no second chances with this sort of thing, no warnings, no nothing. The clan-head’s word was law and his was quite clear. Despite these warnings, there was someone that was impregnated, through a investigation turned up that the new rules had been withheld and the person sheltered from any current news so they were spared. They were allowed the choice to keep this child, though warned its health would likely be very poor. They wished to take their time to decide.

In the meantime, he asked a number of informats, agents and Rin herself to figure out more these other powerful clans, packs and families of these creatures that were once cursed humans but now breeding their own powerful line of species and races. Quite a few reports of these lines popped up in Japan, surprisingly, he had always assumed that with his own line and several prominent lines of Okami, Oni, Kitsune and several smaller breeds of ogres, that the area would be hostile to these creatures that could be viewed as ‘trying to play the gods that they aren’t’.

However, the more information was dug up, the more he was surprised. Some of these families had reached out to these other families and offered them aid in times of need, shelter, teachers for some of the inbred arcane arts and natural talents. There were even a few marriages to bring them together, a few not permitting children but most encouraging it. It seemed that they were late coming into this idea to strengthen their lines with new blood and now just breeding in the same of their species with good genes. A few tentative investigations turned up that these offspring were strong, resilient and sometimes capable of feats from both bloodlines, though they seemed to mostly take from the one parent and that parent usually being the godhood or ‘pure’ side.

These reports just made it seem like it would be a better and better idea to choose one of these other lines than trying to rework his entire organization to accept that one line of Okami or try to conquer the other two. Fresh genes would give their children a boost and the possibilities of them having both the powers of their god genes and these others? This was the sort of power that the Shimada clan aimed for, not human wealth and political power.

He sent out Rin and her choice of a number of agents to find the most powerful of these packs and families, the ones that closest resemble Okami and then which ones that they personally felt would be good additions to the family. Rin was also tasked with seeing which of these families would form alliances with him, since it was apparent that if they kept breeding stronger and stronger children that they would soon become seen as threats regardless, he wanted to nip that whole field of problems in the bud. Better to try and make friends and allies with these people now than later when his people would pick fights with them and make them enemies.

Such things could not go unnoticed for long and he soon had nosey and spying pack members demanding an explanation to what he was doing and why. Despite his continued reminders that he was clan leader and thus had all the power and they merely his underlings, it was apparent that they had become mouthy and entitled. To was glaringly apparent that he had stepped away for too long and let these people grow selfish and entitled, the selfish and self obsessed of gods had come through without teeth in their scruffs.

Another meeting was called. It had been years, decades, since there had been this many so close to each other. But he had neglected his duties and his father had ruled with iron clad fear, it was time to at least correct his own mistakes.

“We are looking to add some unusual families to the line,” He told his gathered council.

It was raining outside, heavy droplets beating against the roof so loudly he had to raise his voice and the idle chatter had been cut, lest they drown in the constant noise. But upon hearing this, a dozen voices rose and the noise was almost unbearable. To quell it, he had to draw in breath into his lungs and let out a snarl that would have made even the mightiest thunderclaps pale in comparison. Quiet once again, he glared dark and bloody murder at these so called loyal members of his clan as the quivered and shook in their seats.

“If the stock were not so watered down, we would not need to have to do this, but it is and you can only blame yourselves and your vile greed. Had you not sold our honor and strength for human currency, we would be trying to being more okami into the clan.”

“With all due respect, clan head, will not this only make things worse?” Someone asked with an arrogant tone.

“No worse than your own vile treachery,” He snarled, baring teeth, letting his aura snap out and become _suffocating_. “I have tangible proof that this works, that it makes good and strong children and strengths the families involved. The Shimada pack has grown soft and weak, I must take the task of strengthening of the clan personally in hand. If any of you have a problem, I can easily bury you and replace you with someone that is more agreeable. Think on that... now, get out of my sights.”

They tripped over themselves to leave faster.

* * *

A few reports trickled in from his agents and Rin shortly afterwards. Rin, herself, had chosen several lines of werewolves and wolf shape shifters dotted all over the world and returned with two alliances with two American fairy families. The accompanying agents also had a number of choices, most of which seemed to be inclined towards wolven dispositions with a few suggesting some spirits, some fea, a few different types of demons and coming with several alliances from lesser but growing families. All in all, a lot of options for him to skim through, choosing from the compiled information about everything from recorded powers to extensive medical histories.

Rin helped him, more keen about these kinds of things then him, along with her two assistants, during the weeks after the last report had come in. They set themselves up in his office with a few staff members coming and going with meals, tea and snacks as they worked, going through each report with critical eyes, as the Shimada clan would only accept the best of the best.

“This one would be a matter of fate,” She said, pulling a file out of his hands as they worked in his office. “Good strong powers, resilience, but at an increased risk of cancer and heart disease randomly appearing over the centuries despite their powers.”

“Hmm, which was one your favorite again?” He asked, tired from looking at medical terms beyond his comprehension and all these species and subspecies that they were sorted in.

“This one so far, though I am hesitant to give it a ‘beaming’ review,” Rin said, pulling a file from the unchecked pile and pushing it in front of him. Flipping it open revealed another werewolf family, the ‘McCree’ line. “Very powerful, very old. One of the younger members has recently mixed with one of the native tribes of America, the Njavado if I am correct and this has given them exceptional control over their forms. But…”

“But?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

“Most of the line has claimed mates or are against outside interference. When we asked around, the one that recently mixed the lines, she is mated and happily, her oldest son is mated happily, the youngest is only fourteen and thus, she is far too young to be married off, and the middle child…”

“What?”

“He’s an outlaw and has a very large bounty on his head. We were not able to find him despite extensive searching, so he is clever and quite good at fleeing those seeking him,” Rin sighed, flipping through the opened file and pulling out the one about this man.

Jesse McCree, age unknown but suspected to be decently aged though no where near the end of a werewolf’s long life. Over six feet tall, dark skin and darker hair, brown eyes. There was a picture but the digital numbers in the corner told him that it was well over two decades old and showed a young man with freshly cut hair and looking slightly starved, staring like a frightened deer at the thing taking his picture. Most of his file appeared to be copies of government files and most of the information redacted. The only bits that he could read was some very outdated information about his childhood that served no purpose and then how he was wanted for robbery, arson, murder, train robbery and one count of assaulting an officer that seemed to never have stuck.

“An… interesting man,” He said, wondering why this man was Rin’s favorite.

“He is the strongest of his siblings, there is evidence of the ability to rapidly transform between forms in rapid succession with little physical consequence, rapid and thorough healing even for werewolves. Not only that but he is extremely quick thinking, very resourceful, tactical thinking and a very impressive shot with his gun, a special peacekeeper. Overall, his physical and mental qualifications are what we’re looking for, but his criminal history and his being hidden are not working in our favor.”

“Well, there are plenty of choices and there is no pressing time constraints,” He said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “Come, show me a few more before I need to stretch my legs.”

* * *

While Hanzo was never outright against humans, and certainly no where near as violently hateful of them as his deceased father had been, Hanzo still preferred not to interact with them more than necessary and when he needed to take ‘necessary’ business meetings with humans partners, he always did with disdain. While money was never an issue, being alive as long as they did gave one ample time to make money and learn skills to make money, there was just something about being a wealthy family that made interacting with certain parties nonnegotiable. Especially with the number of businesses that his family owned, managed and looked over all over the world and especially in Japan.

Hanzo never liked these, never one for being outright friendly to humans, but sometimes he was required because he was the head of the clan and pack. One of the reasons for his disdain was that human laws required him to use a full glamor instead of a half glamor like he was used too and a full glamor always made him feel slightly ill, as well as unguarded and unsafe. Something about not being able to show off his non-human traits and all that because even his half glamor had a habit of making the hairs on human necks stand up and make them feel terrified in long exposures. Not to mention being surrounded by humans always left Hanzo on edge because had to constantly check himself before he did something that might have accidentally harm or upset them. Add on the stress of recent events he was close to murdering anyone that so much as inconvenienced him.

This meeting was with some manufacturing companies’ CEOs that they had employed, gathering at a five star restaurant that his clan also owned. They were treated to one of the private rooms and all the finest foods that the restaurant could offer, along with any fine drinks as well. The room, decorated more like a club room with darkened walls and colorful lighting, the servers all dressed in professional but modern clothing and responded quickly to any order there was. Even the owner came by to make sure that they were happy, sometimes jumping to be a server himself to further prove he wanted them to be happy.

A poor mood meant no appetite on his part, though he indulged slowly in a fine bottle of sake, sipping away while business was talked over expensive dishes and liquors. The chittering of voices, the smells of okami and humans mixed with the smells of food and alcohols and a migraine slowly settled in that just made his mood worse. Eventually he had to give up his drink to keep it from overwhelming him, grinding his fingers into his temples to relieve some of the stress as his stomach churned. Damned this human like form and how weak it made him...

“-- Clan head?”

Blearily he looked up to see that a few concerned eyes had turned onto him.

“A headache, please continue,” He groaned.

While the chatter picked up again, his phone silently buzzed in his pocket. Since no one needed him at the current moment, he pulled it out of his pocket and swiped with his thumb to unlock it. His text messaging app was bouncing away, a quick tap pulled it open and revealed two messages from Rin. She wanted to know his thoughts on water gods with Japan’s history with tsunamis, and about demons. Seeing a perfect opportunity to distract himself from his current misery, Hanzo quickly texted back ‘Fine if they are not temperamental or prone to anger/violence’ and ‘What kinds of demons?’. They two of them chatted about the different aspects of demons, the morality of it since the origin of demons were human and non-human sins, and no, no matter how attractive the demon’s glamor/half glamor was, Hanzo did not want to see.

[Oba: You’re no fun >:P]

[Me: I do not get to be fun, oba-san.]

[Oba: Still, I wish I could find you a friend at least to help your nerves. I hate hearing Yuu go on and on about your stress levels, it worries me, my dear nephew :( ]

[Me: There is not much that can be done at this point, oba-san.]

[Oba: I wish your father had not ruined the idea of a spouse to you at least. I would love to find the perfect, loving mate for you. Someone to care for you, love you, listen to you and treat you well.]

[Me: There is not much that be done at this point…]

[Oba: ;__; ]

Putting his phone away, Hanzo turned back to the meeting with a heavy sigh.

* * *

Days passed by slowly, it felt like. There was a lot a lot of work to try and whip his clan back into shape and between trying to figure out what went wrong where… the days were long. 

For starters, Hanzo first cut ties with as many of the greed fueled families as he could, disowning them and making them take back up their former family names and leave Shimada grounds. There was a lot of noise about this, but Hanzo ultimately was the head of the clan and had more than ample reason to do so. Besides, they had the money to take care of themselve, it really was on them to own up to their own greed and realize that they only ever wanted Shimada money and power. There were a few that were allowed to stay, some of the good families that came from honest and good ties into the family.

Rin often remarked on his stress, Yuu as well, both of them trying to softly suggest time off or for him to seek some sort of pleasure activity. But there was work to be done and he could very well not shirk it now.

“It really doesn’t do well to work yourself ragged, and I say this as your ‘fun’ aunt, not your advisor,” Rin told him one day, taking a finance file out of his hand to make him focus on her. He gave her a dead look before making a grab for the file, only for her to further keep it from him. “When was the last time you did anything for yourself?”

“Oba-san please,” Hanzo pleaded, trying to grab the file.

“ _Oba-san_ ,” Rin mimicked back at him in a whiny and insufferable tone. She opened her mouth to say something else but her phone buzzed. She walked away from Hanzo to answer it, the disgustingly in love tone suggesting that it was his other aunt, Atsuko.

“Ah! It’s so good to hear from you, my love! How’s the trip in New Mexico?” Rin cooed.

Hanzo tried to grab the file again only for Rin to dematerialize and reappear just out of his grasp. He grumbled and simply stomped over to make another grab for it.

“Oh you’re at the train station? Sounds like fun, give me a selfie my love?” Rin giggled.

Right as Hanzo’s fingers pressed down on the file she was gone again, on the other side of the room and looking at her phone. Hanzo stomped over to grab it again, only to get the phone shoved into his face. On the screen, Atsuko was sticking her tongue out and winking at the screen. She was wearing what looked like a soft blue blouse instead of her normal garb.

“Ah, I love when she sends me selfies,” Rin smiled as she took the phone back, “I should ask her to come back with American knick-knacks. Do you want anything, Hanzo?”

“My file back,” Hanzo quipped.

“Oh, I hear that there are some wolf refuges around where Atsuko is visiting, I should ask her to buy one of those cute stuffed animals that help pay for them,” Rin said, ignoring Hanzo completely, “Probably also ask if we can be donors as well. And knowing her, she’ll come back with American liquor, I should ask for that one wine she brought back last time, it was tasty.”

“Oba-san,” Hanzo stressed.

“And sweets, can’t forget those.”

“Rin please,” Hanzo whined.

“Oh very well,” Rin pouted, handing the file over, “But please, and I say this with as much love and compassion as I can, Hanzo. Please don’t work yourself into an early grave. You’re not young anymore, I know this, but you _are_ far too young to be this stressed and overworked.”

“...I will take the evening off, if that pleases you?” Hanzo sighed.

“More than you know,” Rin beamed before standing on her toes to give Hanzo’s cheek a little peck. “Now, are you sure there is nothing you want from America?”

“... One of those stuffed toys and sweets,” Hanzo sighed, defeated.

“I’ll let Atsuko know,” Rin smiled, only slightly smug.

* * *

The first arranged marriage meeting with non Okami happened not too long after Atsuko returned home from her latest business endeavor, about a week later. 

A group of wolf shifters, grey wolves with lovely white underbellies, consisting of a younger man accompanied by his parents that was interviewing for one of his eligible younger cousins. Hanzo was not meant to be part of it, but he did make a point of welcoming the the potential new family members to his home, introducing himself, and telling them a little about the family. Old and inbred instincts were ever eager to sniff out the possible new additions and the idea did excite Hanzo some.

The whole arranged marriage thing though… the idea was rather awkward since arranged marriages had been out of fashion, and moral standing depending on whom you spoke about it to, for many decades. In past years it often involved one or two non-consenting parties to a lifelong commitment and a few took advantage of that, though not many. Mostly it involved two very miserable people that often did not care for their spouse or loved other people and it often added to the horrific notion that marriage was an institution, much like prison while parents got rich from agreements and trades. Even if it were not a popular thing today, only a few select families doing it for business or very old traditions, old thoughts and opinions of it lingered.

And generally because… well... everyone seemed a bit nervous and awkward about it. Hanzo since he had only gone on a few heavily watched interview meetings and the family because… they had never tried this before and never really heard of it before this and… it was awkward.

Thankfully Rin saved him before it grew too awkward, being a charismatic force to be reckoned with as she ushered the family to a meeting room with Hanzo’s nervous wreck of a cousin was waiting.

“Your father must be rolling in his grave, ha! I love it,” Atsuko said, joining him as he let Rin do her work. She was dressed in her usual garb this time, dark blues, blacks and silvers as she loved. Her hair was left to fall naturally though, not tied up or done up like some would have liked, though Hanzo did not care. Truthfully, he just always wondered why his aunt wore her full Glamor instead of half of it, like Rin or himself.

“Yes, well, he is dead,” Hanzo sighed, “And I am alive. I have to make sure that the Shimada pack thrives. And if that means breaking away from ‘purist’ ideology then… so be it.”

“A lot of those old wolves will be pissed,” Atsuko said, materializing her cigarette holder from thin air, let her aura drip out of her mouth in a cold vapor.

“A lot of those old wolves can go to hell,” Hanzo growled.

“That’s my boy,” Atsuko beamed with pride, “Though I have to say, I’m glad that you’re up and moving again. You being morose in your room was… not going to lie, my dear nephew, it was rather heartbreaking to see you rot in there. Though I am going to say-”

“Not you too,” Hanzo groaned.

“I’m with Yuu and Rin, you’re far too stressed for your own good. You need to relax before you end up a soured old man with no hair on his head,” Atsuko said, frowning when Hanzo frowned at her in turn. “I mean it. Stress can harm us too, might not kill us, but make us wish it could. Relax Hanzo, look for people that you can trust-”

“I trust you, Rin and Yuu,” Hanzo grumbled, “And the three of us cannot run a pack.”

“No, but giving a little bit of your work to your two very willing to help aunts will help ease some of the burdon you put on yourself.”

“I’m fine, oba-san, truly,” Hanzo sighed irritably. 

“You don’t sound fine, you don’t look fine,” Atsuko pointed out, “I see bags underneath your eyes.”

“They’re designer,” Hanzo quipped dryly.

“A sense of humor, maybe you are fine,” Atsuko drylly retorted right back, smirking though. It brought a small smile to Hanzo’s face. “Just… we really are willing to help. Ponder it, at the very least?”

“I will, oba-san.”

* * *

Hanzo decided that it was time.

A simple walk, to help steady his nerves and keep his thoughts calm. His thoughts had to be calm, he owed it to _him_ to keep his mind clear on such a visit. From the Shimada grounds, into the neighboring areas of other large and powerful families in their own mansions and walled off grounds, into the higher end neighborhoods of mostly humans, Hanzo walked.

The first, and only, visit on his trek was one of Rin’s personal florist shops. A quaint little greenhouse that worked year round to produce everything from beautiful blooming flowers to the more odd and often prickly oddities that were charming in their own right. Staffed by nature spirits, nature fea, and two very old forest gods, all of whom Hanzo knew by heart at this point, having taken to visiting the shop often over the past twenty or more so odd years. They knew him as well as the shop’s affectionate owner, one of the dryads once joking that they could sniff him out as soon as he hit the end of the block. Hanzo knew the building top to bottom from heart, it’s selection, it’s practises, it’s rotation and even a few of the inside jokes that went among the staff, he was there so often.

“Greetings, Shimada-sama,” A seemingly withered and greyed woman smiled at him once he stepped inside. The heavy smell of her godhood and even her presence was easily hidden in the potent smell of the greenhouse and it’s plants and even the heavy humidity on the inside.

Giving her a soft greeting back, Hanzo went looking through the wide selection of flowers and other plants. First picking up the one Rin wanted him to get, a specialty of the shop, green Snapdragons with vivid slashes of oranges and lighter and darker greens. Then he went looking for his own, perusing the available flowers before deciding on pink roses.

“Greetings, Shimada-sama,” The young nature fea behind the counter smiled as he brought up his selection. Since there were no humans in the shop, she bore only slimmers of her Glamor, her skin a soft green, her eyes black, her hair a tangle of briar and thorns. “The flowers were watered since your last visit. One rose bush had become too large, so we carefully took it and planted in the nearby garden, so there should be a nice spot to add these when you get there.”

“My thanks,” Hanzo said quietly.

With his selection purchased, Hanzo began the next part of his trek. Traveling through neighborhoods that were calm and peaceful, never minding him as he walked. Hanzo walked until he could smell the ocean and walked and walked until he came close to a drop off into the ocean. Most of it was gated off for the safety of others, but there was a section was was gated off from the rest, squared away to keep it and the purpose behind it secure.

Hanzo opened the seemingly simple lock to the gate, all of course charmed to hell and back with a multitude of various charms and spells to keep it really safe, before opening the gate just enough to get himself inside before closing it behind him. Inside the locked off area was a seemingly wild patch of flowers, all from Hanzo’s previous visits, before the drop off into the ocean. Hanzo found that spot that had been mentioned to him earlier, a fresh patch of dirt where he carefully planted the two flowers that he had bought, patting the earth down loosely before walking to the edge of the drop off.

The smell of the ocean was thick in his nose and the smell still made sadness stab deep into his heart. The unending waves as they crashed against the the ledge further below and the sharp rocks that always seemed to have dark red and jagged tips… from that time.

“You would be encouraging this,” Hanzo said to the ocean. “You know that it would drive father insane with rage and laugh. You would probably have suggested kitsune and snake shifters, father always hated those people especially. You probably would have suggested humans just to watch him writhe in anger… you would probably would have saw this as the golden opportunity to be yourself, fully and honestly. You probably would have pushed for a great many reforms, ‘why start small? Let’s go big!’ you would probably say.”

The ocean said nothing, of course, just kept swaying with the breeze. Hanzo sighed deeply before looking at the ground just before the edge. Settled into the ground was a stone tablet with the kanji for ‘Shimada Genji’ and his birth and death dates carved into it.

“I miss you Genji… I wish I could take it back…” Hanzo said softly before turning back to watch the ocean quietly go about its business.

* * *

When Hanzo arrived back from visiting Genji’s grave, the arranged marriage meeting was over but there was no sight of the family, nor smell of them nearby. When he tracked down Rin, he found her in her office looking over files again.

“How did it go?” Hanzo asked.

“Well enough, but they were not selected,” Rin sighed, looking up at Hanzo over the small square shaped spectacles balanced on her nose tip. “While the family’s genetics certainly are nice and they are a healthy bunch, there simply was no chemistry between the two. They simply were not interested in each other and there was a few clashing opinions on certain topics, so even if they were given a chance, it likely would have crashed and burned within the first year or so.”

“I’m surprised that you’re still upholding that rule of yours,” Hanzo said, taking Rin’s guest seat so he could look through some of the scattered files.

“We live long lives, Shimada-sama, I want spouses that, at the very least, don’t end up hating each other. The previous matchmaker before me certainly only selected for stock and look at what happened with all his matches. They hate each other, with venom, loathe each other. I’m almost surprised that there hasn’t been mass maritricide or uxoricide between them. No, I shall look for both potential of pups but also make sure that above all else, that the spouses can stand to be around one another,” Rin said firmly.

“So life continues,” Hanzo said, picking up a file and surprised to see that it was that McCree man again. “You haven’t given up on this one?”

“Certainly not, just because he’s a bit hard to find,” Rin huffed, “I want to meet this man at least once. Most close counter reports from civilians of locations of where he’s been say that McCree is a gentlemen and good man above all else, despite what law enforcement would try and paint him as. And a gentleman with the abilities and powers that he has? I will not pass that up lightly.”

“I shudder at the fools who think they can stand in your way,” Hanzo said, letting Rin have the file back.

“Not fools, I never like calling anyone a fool, Shimada-sama. They’re just people I have to dodge,” Rin smiled almost sweetly. “Besides, I have it on good word that McCree might be traveling to Japan soon, in order to shake off bounty hunters and monster hunters tailing him. If I can catch him, I can speak with him about the arrangement.”

“I do not know how I feel about staking Shimada honor by inviting a known criminal into our folds,” Hanzo hummed.

“That, actually, is a matter up to debate on whether or not he’s actually guilty,” Rin explained. “Many of the crimes that he’s supposed committed only have him there with no solid evidence of commiting the crime. When I looked into it, it appears that several crimes are most likely pinned on him to take the fault with no actual hand in said crime. In fact, if one were to pay off his bounty, chances are everything tagged onto him would drop.”

“...Interesting,” Hanzo hummed thoughtfully. What man ran from crimes that he did not commit?

“I was going to pay off the bounty for him, since it’s not much money to the family and it would compensate him for his time if he at least hears us out,” Rin said.

“Very well.”

“My thanks, Shimada-sama…” Rin paused to tap her lips, a habit she did when she was thinking of something that might potentially upset others. “Shimada-sama, if I were to get McCree to listen to the deal and perchance accept it…”

“I do not want to carry a pup,” Hanzo quickly snapped.

“Oh no, nothing of the sort, I meant as a spouse,” Rin said. “We can put one or both of your on one form or another of birth control. But I meant as a spouse, someone to care for you, listen to you, pay attention to you? McCree, by all accounts, sounds like a charming man in every sense of the word and if I find that to be true, I would love for you to at least have one interview meeting with him. I won’t force you… I know how your father twisted your views on spouses and the idea of taking a mate at all… but I worry for you. You try and take on so much on your own, you’ve closed yourself off to the world, to everyone and I can see it in your eyes that you’re lonely and… I don’t know, I’m rambling. I just want you be happy, my dear nephew, anyway that may be.”

Hanzo leveled a glare at Rin’s cluttered desk. His father had indeed twisted his view on mates and spouses, using it as yet another tool to shape Hanzo and his decisions to what he wanted them to be. Hanzo had been too terrified of a mat abusing or using him that he had only had a handful of interview meetings before his father’s death and none after. Perhaps the only thing that had saved him was the fact that the three most trusted people in his life were happily married, Rin and Atsuko together, and then Yuu and his spouse. But still… but still… but still, perhaps Hanzo did yearn for what those three had, that loving and gentle person in their life that loved and supported them…

“I will… think about it,” Hanzo said.

“All I ask for, I don’t want to force you into anything,” Rin said softly, reaching over to brush hair behind Hanzo’s ear. “Just… I want you to be happy, my dear nephew and I know Atsuko is a constant source of that in my life… I will have you know though, before I even consider him, McCree will be bombarded with questions. I will thoroughly examine his character from top to bottom to make sure he’s even remotely good enough for you.”

“Good enough for me?” Hanzo snorted.

“Yes, and none of that ‘I’m not good enough’ nonsense, yes you are, Shimada-sama,” Rin huffed. “McCree will have to be good enough for you, not the other way around. And if he’s not, he gets kicked to the curb. I shall not stand another corrupted asshole under this roof, for as long as I live.”

Hanzo snorted as his aunt went on a passionate diatribe, mood slightly lifted.


	2. Monsters and Pack Mates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mentioned language, minor emotional upheaval, mentions of birth control/possibility of trans male pregnancy
> 
> What to do, what to do, do I stay or do I go? 
> 
> -rewritten chapter

Jesse McCree was not having a nice day.

First thing on the list of horrible things making his life a living hell? He had tried flying all over the world to escape the people looking for the bounty on his head. Smuggling himself on planes, small aircrafts, sometimes smuggling himself onto boats of all kinds. The thought process was that, by moving out of the southwest, that he would shake some of them that did not want to put forth the effort to track him down over international waters, or at least wade out the cheap ones that did not want to pay the arm and leg to travel. However, news traveled fast and he found international hunters now traveling after his ass and the hell bent hunters from before now tailing him.

Dodging bounty hunters and monster hunters had always been second hat to him, he picked up the skills to do so right quick in Deadlock and sure, he got a little soft working for Blackwatch and how they protected him, but he remembered them well enough when he left that life behind. Never stay in one place too long, keep a low profile, do not do anything rememberable, if you have then make friends with the right people, play dumb and only use your best tricks for last when your back was against the wall. Ma never raised a fool and he was trying to do her proud and at least keep alive.

Second thing on the list of horrible things making his life a living hell? Scent blockers, or more specifically, the lack of them. Apparently in an effort to further add eyes on non-humans, humans had deemed scent blockers a higher grade of medical supply that needed one to go to a pharmacy to grab instead of just grabbing a cheap bottle from the dollar store. And with Jesse’s face plastered everywhere well… he had not a lick of scent blockers to his name and his natural werewolf scent could be caught by anyone with a nose. If Jesse managed to get his hands on some, it was either a kind soul giving him some or if he was lucky, there would be a bottle or two on the pockets of hunters that he managed incapacitate. But most of the time? Jesse was pretty much wearing a sign to anyone with a good nose that said ‘WEREWOLF HERE!’.

Japan was his latest attempt to get away from it all and honestly after it? He had no other plan to speak of. McCree had hoped that the sheer number of human and non-human scents would help drown out his scent and for a time it seemed to be working. The sheer number of human and non-human people crammed on the relatively small island helped muddle his scent nicely and keeping a low profile in the more ‘touristy’ spots kept a good number of eyes off of him. 

The trademark outfit had to be swapped out after the first three days, too many people assuming that he was going to be one of the backwaters, redneck racist pieces of shit that gave cowboys a bad name. So he managed to get his hands on some plain t-shirts and jeans, keeping his normal getup in his safe spot for the time being. But after that he was practically invisible, just another face in the thick crowds that usually walked the streets at any given time of day or night.

But after the fifth day, he realized he was getting too comfortable again when a monster hunter got too close to his hiding spot. After a day of getting supplies, he was sitting in the little abandoned shack trying to eat something when he smelled the heavy medicinal stench that monster hunters usually carried about them. They always smelled like the bad end of medicine because of the herbs and poisons they carried on their person to use again non-humans. Not that anything they carried would hurt him none, and that smell always gave them away.

Holding his breath in, McCree had listened and smelled for the presence, waiting for them to pass by, hoping and praying that they would not find him. Only when some punks started yelling did the smell suddenly and quickly disappear and he felt like he could finally relax. Of course, not even two hours later and he heard a very American voice asking around, looking for someone that matched his description, though thankfully he had kept his mouth shut and the locals had nothing to say. But it just further proved that he had gotten too comfortable and he needed to move.

McCree had hashed out a lot ideas that night about where to go next. There were a number of spots that he could go, even with the kind of heat on his tail that he had. But gods was he tired of all this fucking running. Tired of not being able to catch his breath or being able to relax, tired of not knowing where he could lay his head for the night or if he could at all, tired… tired… tired. Gods, Jesse had been tired since he left Blackwatch and while he was trying to not admit it to himself… leaving Blackwatch like he did was a mistake. Should have never gone on his own… maybe he would not be sick up to his ears of running.

Perhaps it was time to return home? Ma and the pack would keep even the most battle hardened veteran bounty hunters and monster hunters off of him for awhile, and he knew that she was due a visit. She would give him hell over half the things that had happened since the last visit, but… she would still take him in and protect his ass for a few days at least. Give Jesse a hot second to catch his breath before going on the run again.

With his mind made up, on the sunrise of the sixth day, McCree was fully prepared to leave when he bumped into someone that was neither monster hunter or bounty hunter.

“Excuse me, are you Jesse McCree?”

At the end of the alleyway that he was trying to travel, was a sweet older lady that was currently standing in his way. She was looking at him with cool dark eyes and her hands neatly folded in front of her, wearing one of those kiminos that some of the locals wore only hers seemed very expensive and very… royal like. The picture of innocent woman if it were not for the golden slashes that cut through her cheeks and the long length of snowy white hair. Not to mention the nearly overbearing aura of power radiating off of her. Non-human and definitely not like what he was used to dealing with, something stronger, something deadlier… and currently staring him down indifferently. 

Holy shit, what in sams hell was after him now?!

“Uh… yes I am, howdy ma’am?” He said, wondering if it there were few enough people on the streets that he could manage a quick transformation and flee the scene. Perhaps he could outrun this woman before she did… whatever gruesome and horrible things she could do to him. God he hoped that she could not use magic or even worse, eye death beams, ugh the last time that he had to deal with that was a nightmare.

“I was wondering if I could speak to you about a serious matter?” The lady said, “On behalf of my family.”

“Uh, excuse me ma’am, don’t bee to be in a rush or to be rude, but I don’t exactly have time for this,” McCree tried to stress. “I got some not so nice men after me and I really don’t want to get you involved…”

“Ah, so you’re the reason there’s been so many monster hunters in the country lately, hmm, though with your bounty I would not be surprised,” The woman hummed thoughtfully, tapping one talon tipped finger against her chin. Impeccably painted lips puckered slightly in thought. “You know, my family is powerful and we could look over you while we talk, keep you safe.”

“No offense, ma’am, but what makes you think I can trust you?” McCree managed between his teeth, feeling his muscles tense for either running like hell or to change into a much more combat ready shape.

She was not the first and probably was not going to be the last to try and sweet talk him into a trap. Everyone from sweet grandmothers to little bitty babies, people had used all sorts of nasty tricks. Not to mention she already knew about the bounty on his head and that was a pretty penny, even if she was from a rather rich and powerful family. Mama McCree did not raise a fool and he was not going to--

“My family is very powerful and very rich, McCree-san, your bounty is very high but mere pocket change to us, come speak with me and regardless of what you choose, I will personally pay off your bounty,” The lady said with a warm and soft smile.

...Fuck. Even if it was a trap, that was mighty pleasing incentive. Not to mention she said no matter what he said on the matter. Maybe he could come out on top with this? There was always the ace in his sleeve as well, that he was the fastest on the draw when it came to changing shapes and shooting guns and that always caused a fuss.

“One condition?” McCree tentatively asked.

“Yes?”

“That it’s some place public?”

“Of course,” The lady smiled, clearly overjoyed that he was going listen. Maybe she really was a nice lady that just wanted to discuss something... “I know just the place, would you please follow me?”

“Can I get the name for the pretty face I’m followin’?”

“Ah, my apologies for not introducing myself. I am Shimada Rin, of the Shimada clan, one of the most powerful okami families in the country.”

* * *

Ms. Rin lead him through a few streets. Anytime he caught any heavy medicinal stench or the heavy metallic smell of guns or weapons, Rin let her aura ripple and sent the smells and their people running, along with most of the people around her that suddenly acted like they got an almighty chill in the air. Though he supposed that he was grateful, whatever an okami was she was a powerful one that kept anyone anyway, regardless if they were human or non-human and the longer he trailed after the more his scent got muddled with hers. Even if he absconded after she said her two bits, he would have that frightening scent on him long enough to keep some people off his tail for a couple of hours at least.

The Shimada thing though… Genji spoke a bit about his clan that he had been exiled from. How they were cruel and demanding, how his own brother had been told to kill him but chose exile instead, how exiling him had been a fate worse than death. They had defanged him, declawed him, stripped him of his powers and left him pretty much a maimed human. The image of first seeing Genji’s fake metal fangs and fancy fake metal nails that Angela had made him were always seared into his head. But... the way Genji talked about it… it always seemed like the clan had brainwashed his older brother and later in the years after Genji got tired of being a test subject for Angela, Genji was grateful that his brother spared his life and got him away from that life. Genji had also mentioned that he feared for Hanzo’s mental health being left with the clan that had doomed them from the start…

Shit… what was this about?

Ms. Rin chose what looked like a decent tea house, nothing upscale but also not cheap like the ones he saw in the bad neighborhood that he was hiding out in. When she entered, a server seemed to immediately recognize her and quickly hopped on over to get her order. In quiet and almost musical Japanese, she ordered something about ‘private’ and something about food, he cursed himself for not paying more attention to Genji’s lessons back in Blackwatch, but still grateful that he knew a few thin threads of the language. Whatever she said, the server enthusiastically nodded before beckoning them to follow, leading them across the floor until the reached one of the closed off rooms off to the side and holding aside the cloth blocking it off from the rest of the restaurant.

Ducking inside, there was one of those low tables and cushions on the floor and soft pastel walls with delicate ink pictures of birds and trees and women in dresses. Ms. Rin motioned to one side of the table, gracefully sinking into a cushion on the other side. Trying not to seem like the lumbering, barbarian American, he tried to carefully sink down onto his own cushion, not as graceful as Ms. Rin but he did not just drop like a heathen, he supposed. At least he carefully set his bag underneath the table.

“I love this place, I visited it many times as a young girl growing up in the neighborhood,” Ms. Rin smiled sweetly, folding her hands neatly on the table. “Even after when I married into the Shimada clan, I sometimes travel down here.”

“Couldn’t really tell you much about tea houses,” He admitted, taking his hat off and setting it on his bag before neatly combing his hair with his fingers. He still probably looked a sight though, it had been a few weeks since he really showered. “Only ever had a penchant for sweet tea and ain’t been here long enough to try the local grub.”

“Hmm, well, let’s see if we can fix that,” Ms. Rin smiled, reaching into some hidden pocket on her person and pulling out a smartphone. Time to get down to business. “As I said, I am from the Shimada clan, one of the more prominent families of Japan and of the… ‘non-human’ world. As we said, we’re okami, or wolf deities.”

“No wonder you scare scare off anyone with a look,” He said in slight awe.

“That is practise,” Ms. Rin chuckled, “Being a woman in politics is tough and I needed to be strong for them. My aura is a bit strong, but I also wanted to show off and keep the hunters off of until our business had concluded.”

“Speakin’ of which?” He tried, wanting to get this on.

“Ah, pardon me,” Ms. Rin blushed sweetly, “Well, let me start with the fact that the okami are sadly dying out, or a better way to put it, is that the civilized okami are dying out. More and more okami are choosing to avoid any form of potential… ‘tainting’ by humans and opting instead to go wild in the wolds, become either completely wolf or in worse cases, go feral. That leaves very few lines for more civilized lines for the rest of us the breed with, so we’ve sought alternatives methods.”

“That bein’?” McCree asked.

Ms. Rin suddenly went quiet, smiling as the curtain was moved and two servers quickly came in with what looked like snacks and a tray with a teapot and tea cups. They quickly served before the servers amscrayed and left them alone again. Rin took a sip from her tea, smiling fondly as she did, the warmth clear in her eyes. Hesitantly, he took a sip out of his, thought it was a bit ‘green’ for his tastes he did not feel like being rude to her hospitality, especially if he could get his bounty paid off just by talking to her.

“The creatures of the world, they have many names, the supernatural, the mythical, the cryptids of the world. Many of them have begun breeding with their own and making powerful lines that liken those like the okami. You are from one such line, very powerful werewolves--”

“Excuse me for interruptin’’ but that ain’t exactly… common knowledge,” McCree interjected, “How do you know that about me?”

Sure, bounty hunters and monster hunters knew he was a werewolf, but that he was a powerful werewolf from a long line of powerful werewolves? That was something only some of the bigger non-humans families knew. Stuff like that could still be kept secret from humans and most of the older families guarded how old and how powerful they were with their lives. And most of that stuff hardly left continents. So… how...

“There are many in the non-human world that keep tabs on other non-humans,” Ms. Rin said, “For the most part, it is simply to make sure that hunters are not being too active or that environments are not changing too harshly. If hunters are being too active, they are silenced by someone, if environments are changing too much then resources are pulled and used to either change it back or move the people. Also, some of the lines, much like yours, have become very powerful and we like to keep tabs on potential allies or enemies.”

A groan escaped him before he could help it. Bad enough that people picked fights with werewolves all the time because they were viewed as ‘angry dogs’ but now finding out that people had tabs on all of them. Hopefully no one gave those files to anyone one of those people that had it out for his kind, human or non-human--

Two and two went together in his head.

“Hold on, are you askin’ me if--”

“If you would be willing to father a Shimada child?” Rin said with a slight smirk. “At the moment no. Right now I wish to see what kind of person you are. Arranged marriages between non-humans… I do them differently. I look long term, since we okami live… long, long time. What I’m looking for is if you would be a good spouse, for specific person if the idea I have of your personality is true. But puppies might be a thing in the future, if the two are willing.”

McCree’s brain was short circuiting. Who on this gods’ green earth… and him and someone getting hitched… and maybe puppies?

“I realize that this may be a lot to take in,” Ms. Rin said, idly tracing her fingers around the rim of her cup, appearing thoughtful even as McCree swore smoke was about to come out of his ears. “But let me make myself perfectly clear, you have the option not to, I will not force you, I will not hound your footsteps, I will not send people after you. My family is quite clear on keeping our honor and civility in this matter. And like I said, even if you choose not to take this offer, your bounty gets paid off.”

Well that was comforting thought at least, McCree thought as he rubbed his face roughly.

“Uh… yeah,” He mumbled, trying to process… this.

Jesus… McCree had given up on packs and everything that did or could come with them years ago. Being on the run did that to people, cut off those cozy, homey little dreams because who could settle down and make a home when bad people were after you. That was a terrible thing to do to someone you loved, that was a terrible thing to do pups. McCree had given up on that a long time ago and made peace with that, even if base instincts were more than a little pissed at him for it. Pack and family creatures were never really meant to be alone, but on the run, you learned to ignore things.

And this… yes he was tired of running and he really wanted to just… stop and catch his breath but this lady was talking about a long, long ass commitment because werewolves lived some long ass lives. Not to mention, married to a person from a big non-human family and lord knows those kinds of people were split between being decent and rabid anti-human assholes. And someone that he could not naturally get to know and want to go down that long road of romance and all that shit.

This was… a lot to take in.

“This is a lot to process and I know that this whole situations is a strange one, but again I want to stress that you have options, especially the option not too.”

Gods, was he really thinking of doing it? As much as everything in McCree was screaming ‘run!’, his common sense, his danger sense, almost everything telling McCree to just let this lady pay off his bounty and then run like hell… there was something in him that wanted to know more. The small part of him that just wanted to stop and catch his breath.

Both his ma and Reyes always said that his curious heart would get him in up to his shoulders in shit.

“Are you well, McCree-san?” Ms. Rin asked.

“Yeah, this is just… a lot but I am thinkin’ about it,” McCree sighed, “This kinda thing, it’s… just a lot to think about.”

“Well, is there anything I can to help your thinking along?” Ms. Rin asked.

“Yeah um… how would this work? … if I say yes, I mean.”

“If you were interested in the offer, I would begin the interviewing process and try and get a grip on your personality, person, morality, the fine facets of your being. Like I said, I do arranged marriages different in where I make sure that at the very worst of times, couples can stand the other. If I think you are a suitable mate for someone in the pack, and that you of the general type I’m looking to add to the family, then we move onto the next stage. You meet the person I think you’re best suited for and you basically get the same questions but from them, but you can also ask them in turn. You basically get to know each other and I can feel out how you will do in longer stretches.”

“What if me and this hypothetical spouse doesn’t check all your boxes?” McCree asked.

“Then I move on. If I think there is someone else that you might also be suited for, I would start the process with them. If I think there is no one, I let you go, no questions, no hard feelings,” Ms. Rin explained. “If I like you despite it all, I would like to keep in touch and have you still be an ally to the family.”

“...To be honest, ma’am, got somethin’ of a checkered past, not sure how comfortable I am sharing some of it,” McCree sighed.

“Mmm, if you truly believe that it is not important to your character and that it is a ‘dead’ past, I see no harm in letting you have that to yourself. If there is one thing I know to value, it is privacy and that some secrets are best kept, well… kept,” Ms. Rin said, clearly sympathetic, it made McCree feel a bit better at least. But also made him wonder what secret or secrets she was clearly holding.

“And not to put too fine a point on it, but wouldn’t your family’s standin’ get tarnished if you try and marry me in? I’m… somethin’ of a known man in some parts,” McCree pointed out.

“Most of your bounties honestly seem like you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or things escalated quickly,” Ms. Rin pointed out and damn, did it finally feel good to hear someone say that rather then cuss up and down that McCree was a robbing murderer. “If I were to pay your bounty off, I am sure most of your criminal reputation would immediately disappear. And… between you and me, McCree-san? The Shimada reputation is not what it used to me.”

“That so?”

“Our previous clan-head… he was lax in his last stretch of living and allowed some of our not so upstanding pack mates to do… dark things and we… well to say that there are loud and persistent rumors of us being yakuza would be an very pale understatement. Shimada Hanzo, our current clan-head, is doing wonders of improving that. I see no harm in bringing you in after paying off your bounty.”

McCree mulled this over. There were options and plenty of options for him not to accept or back out, which was making it a bit more attractive… and to be honest that tired part of his mind was more than a little excited. But arranged marriage?

“If you like, I can give you a safe place to rest and think,” Ms. Rin offered with a knowing smile. “I don’t want you to feel pressured into choosing something too soon.”

“That'd be more than kind of you, ma’am.”

“And I promise it will be protected and better than that poorer neighborhood you were hiding in.”

* * *

A decent though small hotel had been booked for him for the foreseeable future, in a simple room that had a weird smell about it that drowned his own scent in its weird, almost spicy smell that drowned Jesse’s natural smell in it’s natural intensity. At the very least it was warm and kept the draft out, unlike that shack that McCree was in, also had a proper bed too instead of some smashed boxes with his serape. Also had a working bathroom, something that he immediately took advantage of, showering off a few weeks of filth and gunk off until he was a clean man, physically speaking, once again. After that he collapsed onto the bed with a towel wrapped around his waist and tucked underneath his gut and sinking down into the sheets and pillow-like mattress.

It would have been too easy to just pass out right then and there, but his head was buzzing too much for him to settle down. Today was just… a lot to take in. Too much, he wanted to run but there were hunters looking for him and it was only by the grace of the Shimada family that they were currently breaking in the windows to come and get him this instant. Shit… the Shimada family… was a bag of wet cats…

They really wanted him huh? And maybe down the line possibly father a pup? Mama McCree always said they they should be proud of their heritage, but he always thought it was because she was from Mexico and pa was from the Navajo tribe, not that they apparently had damned good werewolf genes. McCree always was indifferent about being a werewolf anyway, it was just a part of his life and sure it had its perks and its quirks, its ups and downs, but it was just a part of his life and he had just gotten used to it over the years. Now someone was saying that it was a good thing? _A real good thing?_ Weird…

But could he do it? Jesse had hangups about joining packs but all of them were because of Blackwatch. Blackwatch had a number of black op missions that had Jesse integrating himself into packs to grab information and then break away. Pack creatures were never meant to do that and… it had lasting effects on McCree. Hell, he had avoided packs of any kind, even avoided people and non-humans in general if he could help it because of them. So this...

Sighing, McCree was thinking so hard he almost missed his stomach growling. Almost, hard to ignore the caloric intake that werewolves needed in order to live day by day, not even counting when they transformed. Being on the run never gave him much options on what he could eat, or if he did eat, left a number of stretch marks from weight changes on his being, even with werewolf healing.

Well, Ms. Rin had said that room service was part of the room, McCree figured that he might as well take advantage of it. The room had small smart device connected to the wall that let him scroll through the menu without having to call and ring up the kitchen. Ordering something hearty and filling without seeming like he was trying to take advantage of the Shimada hospitality, he sent it before taking his time getting dressed in some slightly cleaner clothes than the ones that he was wearing and thinking about watching TV when there was a knock on his door. Stomach growling, he went to open the door to let in his dinner.

“Howdy,” He grinned.

The server was a little odd. Wore a hood over their head and a mask over their face, but wearing the neat and crips hotel uniform regardless, pushing the tray along.

“Hold on, I got cash for a tip--”

“McCree?” A very familiar voice asked.

It took McCree a second to place the voice and the appearance together, since the scent was clouded with masking agents. But when he did, it felt like a goddamn punch to the face, a literal blast from the past that he thought he would never see again even if left to live the neigh immortal span of a werewolf’s life.

“Genji?!”

Elbowing him aside, Genji quickly slipped inside and kicked the door shut behind him. Dressed in a very professional red attire and wearing a mask like he normally wore, Genji almost looked the part of a slightly weird hotel staff member. But McCree knew, he knew the man underneath that mask and all those scent maskers. Even more so when Genji threw back his hood and pulled his mask off, revealing the familiar, albeit grinning, scarred face underneath.

“McCree!” Genji grinned, throwing his arms around his neck and hugging him.

“Well howdy to you too, pardner, since where have you been the huggin’ type?” McCre grinned, hugging Genji back despite the weirdness. Last McCree knew, Genji was a practical avatar of anger and anguish and trauma.

“Ah, a lot has changed since we last met, eh?” Genji told McCree as he let go, ruffling his messy hair hair. Once the naturally white hair had been dyed green, but now it was white again. McCree also noted that Genji had once painted over the golden streaks on his high cheekbones, but now they were clear and free. “I had something of a personal journey after I left Blackwatch and well, I’m at peace with what I am and what I’ve been through. You?”

“Ah jeez, and here I’ve just been runnin’ from hunters and shit,” McCree chuckled sheepishly.

“Well, you’re missing an arm, that’s new,” Genji pointed out, pointing at McCree’s metal limb, “How’d that happen? I thought werewolves could grow back missing limbs?”

“Well… shit happens… I’d rather not talk about,” McCree grumbled, frowning at his arm. Way too much shit to unpack with that. “But back to you, what're you doin’ here? I thought you said that you’d never come back home or anywhere near it again?”

“Would you believe me if I said I was undercover?” Genji smirked, “For Overwatch?”

“Uh... yeah I wouldn’t believe you, Overwatch got disbanded… shit… little more than twenty years ago? And them PETRA acts make it illegal for them to form again,” McCree pointed out.

“That’s the thing, we’re working under the radar now, doing good despite the government saying we’re wrong,” Genji said, sticking his tongue out. For a moment he saw metal teeth and remembered his predicament. Fuck, how was he going to explain this to Genji?

“What about bein’ here?”

“Ah, that. Overwatch wants to take down my family, it appears someone within the Shimada family has been funneling funds to several shady organizations like Talon, Vishkar and several anti-Omnic and several rather violent anti-human organizations. Not only that, but there are rumors that onces their done funding, they will destroy my family and I could not let innocent people, my brother included, get harmed.”

“...And uh… how’s that goin’?”

“Not well, we’ve been undercover for months but my knowledge is rather old and outdated and the family has become...more secure since I was exiled. Probably on the account that the mole that is funding these shady organizations. We’ve been trying to work something out for weeks…” Genji sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. Those fake metal nails were still on his fingertips, but painted white on the outward face to make them look slightly less… jarring.

This was way too much and some part of him wished he had never come to Japan in the first place. Jesse McCree was just a simple man and this shit was not simple. Why did it seem like his life was meant to be one hardship after another? Even now, his inner wolf instincts and inner hero instincts were screaming at him to accept the offer, sniff out that villian that was threatening innocent people by helping the bad guys and setting good folks up to fall hard, to save this pack before they were broken up and killed, to save Genji’s pack even if they pushed him away. He also supposed the the whole ‘can’t save everyone’ thing was bugging him too. God, he should have learned his lesson when Gabriel got ashed in that stupid fucking explosion, but Mama McCree always said that he had a thick skull that needed to be cracked a few times before anything was learned.

A heavy sigh escaped his chest.

“Something wrong, Jesse?” Genji asked.

“Nothin’... listen Genji… your family contacted me,” Jesse sighed.

“They… they did?!” Genji asked, “What for?!”

“Slow down, don’t freak out… okay maybe you can freak out when I tell you, but hear me out,” McCree explained. “Apparently your family is lookin’ to expand, but there are hardly any uh ‘civilized’ okami left for them to make puppies with. SO… they’re uh… lookin’ for alternative options.”

“... _holy shit_ ,” Genji gaped, “Did they ask you to make a Shimada puppy?!”

“Not right away, this lady uh… Rin I think her name was, wants to talk to me first, get a feel about my person,” McCree said.

“Holy shit, my aunt is going interview you to get hitched,” Genji wheezed.

“Come on pardner, focus,” McCree said firmly.

“Right, this is perfect McCree, you can be our inside man!” Genji grinned, “Finally, we can--”

“No.”

“...No?” Genji asked, deflating.

“No, Genji, I… I don’t even know if I’m going to do it and even if I do, I know y’all are goin’ to try and convince me to join Overwatch and leave the pack behind and… I just can’t fuckin’ do it. I can’t join up with another pack just to leave it again, Genji. I don’t have the heart to do it anymore, Genji.”

Genji opened his mouth to say something and then promptly closed it.

Genji was with him in Blackwatch, Genji saw what happened to him from pack hopping so much for black ops, probably could see what even the thought of it was doing to McCree now. McCree had walked away from Blackwatch for more than one reason, vowed never to do that kind of black op shit again. A man could take so much weighing down his consciousness before it literally crushed his soul and Jesse had been crumbling for more than a few years by the time he finally did himself any good and left.

“I’m sorry,” Genji said quietly, obviously remorseful. “I should have remembered that before I even suggested it. You don’t even know if you’re going to do it, right?”

“Right… I’ve been given… I’ve been given a lot of options and some part of me is curious. But at the moment I just kinda want to take a breather before havin’ to run again.”

“That’s fair,” Genji said quietly before thumping McCree’s shoulder all friendly like. “I can’t stay long, I‘m still undercover and the manager here is bossy about us taking too long. It… really was good to see you again, Jesse. Can I swing by on my off time so we can catch up? I’m sure that Lena, she’s here by the way, would like to catch up with you too. I can introduce you to Lucio and 76 if he’s not being a grumpy asshole.”

“That sounds great, G man,” Jesse smiled.

Genji hugged him again before taking the cart with him and letting Jesse mope over his dinner, picking at it until he ate all that he could stomach with his sudden mood drop. When that was done, Jesse just flopped on the bed and just let tiredness of every part of his being take over.

* * *

“You’ll never believe who I found in the hotel,” Genji said when he closed the door behind him, returning to the room that he shared with his team after his shift. The mask came off when the door was closed, Genji having to be extremely careful about where he showed his face around town since he had been an infamous youth.

Lena and Lucio perked up from the reports sprawled out over the lower table in the small living room and kitchen area, though 76 was too busy gearing up to go out to put his ear out there for usual intel.

“Who?” Lena asked.

“McCree,” Genji said.

“Really!?” Lena yelped, startling Lucio and ruffling a few reports. 76 casted what could have only been an annoyed look at her for the outburst. She just jumped up regardless, buzzing with eagerness and vapors starting to slip through his glamor as the eager wind spirit buzzed away. “How’s he doing? What’s he up too? Is he okay?” She paused, thinking. “What’s he doing in Japan?”

“One question at a time,” Genji chuckled. “He’s doing fine, he’s in his room and well… I don’t know how to say this but… he was contacted by my family.”

That time, Genji got the attention of everyone. So after sitting down, Genji explained what Jesse had explained to him before breaking the mounting eagerness of everyone and telling them how McCree would not help them.

“Jesse can’t pack hop anymore,” Genji said. “You guys aren’t pack creatures. Pack hopping is…. More than traumatic on several levels. Even once can break people and Jesse… he did that a lot more than once. It was unfair to him that I even suggested it to him and it would be completely out of line to ask or force him to do that again. Not to mention, if we involved him there is always the chance that he’ll be exposed and be forced to leave and that’s just as bad.”

“...yeah,” Lena sighed, “I just wish this op wasn’t dead in the water.”

“We’ll think of something, besides, Jesse isn’t even sure if he wants to do it yet. It would be all for nothing if we managed to convince him to do join us and then decide that he doesn’t want to do it,” Genji shrugged before humming thoughtfully, metal talon tip tapping away at his scarred chin.

“I know that look, what are you thinking, G?” Lucio asked.

“When father was doing arranged marriage meetings way back when, he added extra security because he never trusted anyone right away. If the Shimada family is adding more family members they could be looking for more security?” Genji explained. “Might be a long shot, since auntie is charge this time around but… it’s a lead and we haven’t had one of those for weeks.”

“I’ll check that out,” 76 gruffed out before stomping out of the room.

“While he does that, just in case we should probably tweak your cover story to make you appeal more as a security personal than bell hop,” Lucio said, already getting hsi comm device out, “I’ll work with Winston to get that prepped right away, so we have it on standby.”

“Yeah! Feels good to finally be moving forward again,” Lena grinned.

“Yeah, and on the plus side, Jesse said he’d be happy to catch up on normal shit when we have the time, so… bonus!” Genji grinned.

“I can’t wait to see him again. I haven’t seen him in...bloody hell, two decades at least?”

“Yeah… he’s missing an arm now.”

“Shit, how’d that happen?”

“Don’t know, clammed up real quick when I asked… which has got me worried about what kind of hell Jesse has suffered after breaking away from Blackwatch…”

* * *

Hanzo looked up from a report when his aunt entered his office, quietly entering and closing the door behind herself before even more quietly shuffling into the guest chair across from him.

“How did contact with Mr. McCree go?” Hanzo asked, putting the file away for now.

“Good, I got a fairly general grip of his character,” Rin said.

“And?”

“He’s my favorite, bar none,” Rin said. “Just from speaking with him, I learned that he has mannerisms, he’s a gentleman though a bit rough around the edges, knowledgeable, quick and clever. I caught not a trace of greed in him. When I offered tieing into the Shimada family, he did not reject it right away, so there is some part of him that is at least curious. Right now he is contemplating the offer from a safe place.”

“Have you thought of whom he might make a good match for,” Hanzo said, giving his aunt the side eye.

“Hmm, I have a fair idea,” Rin smiled smugly, “But I wish to get to know him more before then. But that would only happen if he accepts the offer or indulges his curiosity and seeks more… he is a… sad man, Shimada-sama. You could see it in his eyes.”

“Sadness?” Hanzo asked, indulging his aunt.

“Much like you are, my dear nephew,” Rin said, drawing the real attention of Hanzo to her. Her face was completely earnest, she was telling the honest truth. “Something has caused him a great deal of pain in the past and scarred his mind and heart. I believe it has something to do with a pack he may have been part of.”

“...What makes you say that?” Hanzo asked softly, curious now.

“On a base level, pack creatures can just… tell certain things about creatures. When someone mentions packing up, most pack creatures get excited and some can start pack bonding right away. When I mentioned it, Jesse seemed to immediately close himself off, I could detect no change in his base chemistry. Some people are good about controlling that, but most people who have a reaction like that… they’ve lost a pack or more before.”

“That’s… terrible,” Hanzo said.

“He also mentioned parts of his past that he wished to remain dead… I’m making the broad assumption that he’s lost important pack mates to death before. Not to mention, he’s a werewolf that has lost an arm and it has not grown back,” Rin said. “There are very few circumstances that can happen and all of them are… not pleasant.”

“... why are you… telling me this?” Hanzo asked.

“Because, if he’s the right person, I was thinking of setting him up with you, dear nephew,” Rin said sincerely, “He is a kindred scarred soul, Hanzo. He’s been tempered by time and misery. Does that not sound like someone that would be at least the start of a good match for you?”

“...yes,” Hanzo admitted. 

This man, McCree... sounded like someone that would just… understand some of the misery that Hanzo felt on a day to day basis. Someone to understand… that made Hanzo ache with the sudden need to at least try. And perhaps it was that, perhaps it was that pack creature in him that’s heart that went out to pack creature and perhaps… perhaps there was a lonely or curious side of him. If his heart was broken then well… the rest of eternity could be dealt with on his own then, his father’s poisoned teachings proven right.

“And on the plus side, he didn’t seem interested in a pup at the get go, so we can probably convince him to go on birth control with you, if it comes down to it,” Rin added with an upbeat.

“That is a plus… how did he look?” Hanzo asked.

“He’s very handsome,” Rin smirked and making Hanzo blush just slightly but smile in turn. “I wish I had gotten a picture to show you. He grew into the features he had in the outdated picture on his file. Could have use a scrubbing when I saw him, but good features, lovely dark skin and hair color, rather soft brown eyes. He’s also quite strong looking.”

“Do not go getting my hopes up, Rin,” Hanzo smirked.

“I think he’ll come around,” Rin smiled, “If I’m right, then the idea of a strong, stable pack will interest him to at least try for it.”

“Hmm… wait, how do we know of… whose company he prefers to keep?”

“Hanzo, take it from your raging lesbian of an aunt who has lived through a few centuries. I see a gay man when I see a gay man and that man, likes men,” Rin deadpanned, making Hanzo sputter and snort with laughter.

* * *

“Dr. O’Deorain, where are you going?”

Ignoring Akande, Moira continued packing her small bag of various things with a bounce in her step.

“I see, back to poke and prod those mutts I see,” Akande sighed as he leaned against Moira’s doorway. “Your continued interest in them is starting to make people whisper, dear doctor. Some say that you’re biting off more than you can chew, so to speak. Bending and breaking common monsters is one thing, but these mutts are low to mid grade gods and those are a might harder to make our own then say… your beast.”

Said beast was currently sitting on the floor, toxic miasma thankfully pooling heavily on the ground underneath of it. At the mention of it, it turned its bone plate covered face towards Akande for a moment before looking at the ground again. An obedient creature like always, since Moira fully broke it’s mind. As useful tool at their disposal. One that at the moment was assigned long term to protect Moira while she did this ridiculous power play of hers.

“We really need to move up in making our tools for this war on those monsters,” Moira said as she looked over her tools, neatly arranged on her counter. She choose two that looked rather deadly and painful before adding them to her bag. “Werewolves, vampires, lesser spirits. They’re all well and good, but to break them takes away from their power and often we have to supplement with my medical technology. A god though? Even if their power diminishes with mental break, they would be far superior to these lesser monsters.”

“And the fact that you could parade them around?” Akande smirked.

“A bonus,” Moira smiled sadistically. “Now, I shall be off for a few days. I have been away for too long and last I checked Hanzo seemed on the verge of something. I’m hoping a deeper depression that makes it easier to break him. I would love to strip him down and see how his DNA makes him tick. Not to mention, would be a lovely first try in breaking a god.”

“Do be careful, Dr. O’Deorain, there are serious consequences to this if you’re caught or something happens,” Akanda warned gently. “You’re too valuable to lose to those mutts.”

“They’re self indulgent, greedy creatures with no alpha to take their lead,” Moira smirked, “Their fools sitting on high thrones. They won’t know the damage until I have that pack head of theirs on my table.”

“Still, do not get cocky, mistakes are made when cocky,” Akande warned a bit more firmly.

“You worry too much, my dear Akande, I have this handled,” Moira smiled, taking up her bag before snapping rudely at her wraith to stand. Reaper stood obediently, following Moira out of her room with Akande following after them. They went all the way through the Talon base, all the way to the vehicle bay and a waiting transport that would begin the longish trek from the base through a number of routes that would throw off any prying eyes and then too japan.

“Remember my warning, Doctor,” Akande said as Moira stepped in her transport, Reaper slipping in past her to take its seat.

“And again, you worry over nothing,” Moira smiled almost sweetly, “Science begits all and science shall be the downfall of the non-humans and the rise of humanity. We shall make sure that humankind does not fall into their curses, their hungers, their falsehoods of peace and coexistence. My dear Akande… I cannot fail because I am only doing good for humanity.”

With that, Moira closed the door and set off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Notes!
> 
> -In this au Moira is human and uses a system called the Gorgon system, a chemical system that had various effects based on what chemicals come in contact with her blood. One side heals and the other can create corrosive acid/heavy sedatives/hallucinogenics and even chemicals that make people unwilling obedient  
> -Moira is also a 'human purist', a human that hates non-humans and think the earth belongs to humans. While there are more conservative human purists, she's on the more radical end where they believe that all non-humans deserve death  
> -Talon is a human purist terrorist organization that uses enslaved and mentally broken non-humans to further their goals  
> -It's considered highly offensive and rude to call non-humans anything but, with 'monster' being at the top of offensive terms. Creatures is a more acceptable term, but still considered offensive on human lips.  
> -With pack non-humans, such as wolfs, it is highly offensive and considered presumptions to assume someone is mated, especially to women, non-binary and wlw pack non-humans. It's polite to assume someone is unmarried until they correct, thus why McCree keeps referring to Rin as 'Ms. Rin' instead of 'Mrs. Rin'.  
> 


	3. One Step Closer to the Edge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mentioned 'character death', emotions are hard and no one knows what to do with them, body horror because Reaper shows up, Moira being Moira
> 
> I want you all to know that slowburn is not my forte and having them finally meet after 30k words is killing me squirtle
> 
> Rewritten chapter

“Good morning, McCree-san!” Ms. Rin smiled at him as he stepped out of the hotel lobby and into the morning sun, nearly spooking Jesse out of his skin but quickly recovering. Honestly, McCree had wanted some sun that was not through a thick window and had ventured to step outside, surprised to see her.

Ms. Rin was wearing a kimono decorated with golden sunflowers on a light blue background and smelled heavily of a scent that he was slowly becoming accustomed with the smell of Okami. Something like the smell of other canines but with the smell of the earth and woods with a strong hint of metal that told of powerful magic. The natural smell coming off of her was only slightly off put by the smell of tea on her breath and something sweet on her fingertips, probably her breakfast.

“Mornin’, ma’am, surprised to see you,” Jesse smiled back, tipping his hat to her friendly like.

“Such a gentlemen,” Ms. Rin smiled so sweetly, beaming at him. “I wanted to check up on you. I threw a lot of information at you yesterday and I wanted to make sure you were well.”

“Just fine, just fine, ma’am,” Jesse said, scrubbing at his beart. “I’m still thinkin’ about it. A lot calmer today too.”

“That’s good. Can I treat you to a morning cup of something hot to drink? I know this little cafe not too far away.”

“Could kill for some good coffee, lead the way, ma’am,” Jesse smiled.

“Please follow me,” Ms. Rin smiled.

Ms. Rin took the two of them to a smaller but fancier tea and coffee shop than they had gone too yesterday, getting them a booth away from the small mid-morning crowd. By the smell, it was frequented mostly by non-humans and seemed to have a mostly non-human staff, though their glamors were thick. Werewolf eyes were good, but they had never been good with magic on a whole, McCree included, so he could only smell that they were not human. Instead of focusing on that though, McCree just eased himself down into the fancy little chair and took off his hat to sit on his lap before a young waitress bounced on over to greet them. 

Conveying his order for a black American coffee for Ms. Rin to translate, she ordered herself some sort of tea from the petite waitress before playfully shooing her away and turning to him with a warm and open smile.

“How was your night, McCree-san?” Ms. Rin smiled.

“Well to be honest, it was nice sleepin’ on a real bed, haven’t done that in a few months,” Jesse said.

“Glad to provide,” Rin smiled. “Oh, I also wanted to tell you that you’re bounty is paid off. You are no longer a wanted man. You would not believe the mass exodus of hunters that left the country once word got around last night.”

“Thank god,” McCree sighed with relief. It would keep the mass of people hunting off of him, the bounty hunters at least if and when McCree acquired another bounty. The greedy monster hunters might piss off but it would mostly be monster hunters after McCree now. And a handful of monster hunters McCree could deal with for the time being, if he went on the run again…

The waitress came by with their orders, Jesse gratefully enjoying a rather tasty couple of coffee. The hotel’s was decent enough but this was actually really nice. Shame McCree only knew some rudimentary Japanese else he would have come to the cafe more often. Maybe now was a good time to learn a few extra phrases and words?

“Did you have any questions for me, McCree-san?” Rin asked once they were almost finished with their respective drinks.

“Uh… a… few,” McCree said, fiddling with his cup. “Um… I realize that this sort of didn’t get said yesterday but I’m… how do I put this… straight as a sidewinder?”

“Don’t worry McCree, while the previous pack head was against such things, I will have you know that the current is not. Hence myself and my wife being openly married. We even have some openly transgender pack mates now.”

“Oh, good. I know attitudes aren’t what they were like in the past but you never know,” Jesse shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee to steady his nerves. “Does that mean…?”

“Right now there is only one transgender man up for marriage, but at the moment he would rather not carry. So if you were matched up with him, you both would be put on contraceptives to prevent it until such a time that if he were want to such a thing, he could carry.”

That was… actually kind of reassuring. Man, McCree had no idea why this idea was getting a little bit more… not unattractive the more he thought about it. Maybe it was that base need for a stable pack, maybe it was that he actually was given a situation where he had a plethora of choices and could walk away at any time. Maybe it was just base instincts heard ‘puppy’ and Jesse was low key excited as all pack creatures were. Hell, maybe it was part of wanting to help the folks out because of what Genji said.

“I really wish I had an answer for you, ma’am,” Jesse sighed. His cup was empty and he sort of wish staring at it made it more distraction worthy or filled it somehow. “This is just…”

“I completely understand, McCree-san,” Mrs. Rin said. She beckoned the waitress back back and quietly asked for something, the waitress nodded before taking their cups and quickly bounding off. “This is not a light decision to make and I respect that it will need time to make.”

“Right… um, another question, if you’d so kindly indulge me? Do I get to talk to this person… if I say yes?” Jesse asked.

“Of course, like I said, I do arranged marriages differently. I might be able to get a good grasp on your personality, but it’s safe to say I won’t truly know how you act with your potential spouse until you’ve had a chance to speak with them at length. You’ll have several meetings with your potential match to speak at length with them. I gauge how the two of you will be as a couple by your reaction to one another,” Mrs. Rin explained.

The waitress came back with re-filled cups and a plate of what looked like… cartoon decorated macarons? They made Rin smile as she thanked the waitress before she skipped off. When offered one, McCree nibbled on it slowly, just for a textile distraction, but that did not last long and Rin was starting to get a number of messages on her phone that foretold of someone trying really hard to get her attention. Did Jesse have an answer for her…?

“Sorry, am I keepin’ you?” Jesse asked.

“Not from something that I want to go to, trust me,” Mrs. Rin frowned, thumb swiping across the screen. “There are other… interviews going on and some are treating it like purchasing a designer clothing item than a spouse and they are honestly getting on my last nerve.”

“Ha, so I’m the welcome break?” Jesse chuckled.

“Very much so, McCree-san,” Rin smiled before sighing as her phone went off with an incoming call. She visibly deflated before answering it, in Japanese so Jesse did not catch most of it. Just ‘annoying’ and ‘brat’ and Rin’s tone getting increasingly annoyed. Eventually Rin just cut the call before sighing loudly. “I’m afraid that I must leave for now, McCree’s san, duty calls and it’s being a brat about it.”

“No problem ma’am, I’ll uh… try and get this thing decided--”

“McCree-san please, take you time,” Ms. Rin smiled softly.

* * *

“JESSE!”

“Easy!”

Jesse found a very happy wind gale spirit wrapped around him about half a second after the door was shut behind him. Not that he minded, Jesse missed Lena something fierce after all these years, but it was something of a shock, her speed and suddenly finding her latched onto him. Chuckling, Jesse just pet her hair before finally prying her off and gently setting her on her feet, a shameless grin on her face.

“Nice seein’ you too, Lena,” Jesse chuckled.

“It’s been so long, how’ve ya been?” Lena grinned.

“Let me sit down first, take my boots off, twenty years takes more than a hot second to catch up on,” Jesse chuckled as he took off his boots and set them by the shoes at the front door. Lena took his hat from him, putting it on her own head and absconding to the lower table in the living room. Jesse joined her, sinking into a cushion and grinning at Lena’s excited bouncing.

“Hey, introduce us first!” A man said, wheeling himself in on a chair from another room.

“Oh right, hey Jess this is Lúcio Correia dos Santos,” Lena said, gesturing to him, “He’s a son of Osanyin.”

“Shit, almost didn’t catch that whiff of godhood of you,” Jesse whistled low. Thankfully Lúcio did not have an almost choking air about him like some god creatures had, Lúcio seemed friendly and open in fact. “Nice to meet you pardner. Name’s Jesse McCree. Not a fancy god, just a slightly tougher werewolf.”

“Nice to meet you,” Lúcio grinned, “I’m support on the mission. But if you ever need me I’m here, man.”

“And that grouch over there is Soldier 76,” Lena said, gesturing over to a man leaned against the corner. The man was covered in a worn blue, white, red and yellow leather jacket with ‘76’ in large print on the back. A mask covered his face except what looked like thinning white hair on top of his head. The man looked like he was unconscious and stank of rather musty scent blockers, the kind that meant to really saturate someone’s smell if it was potent or easily identified. “Don’t ask him if that’s his real name, or his history, or anything personal. He gets cranky.”

“Or if he’s human or non-human, he gets down right pissed,” Lúcio grumbled, obviously having been on the other end of the grouch’s anger before.

“Right, well… hey Lena how’ve you been?” Jesse asked.

“Oh man I’ve been great!” Lena grinned, “I mean… Losing Overwatch was a bit of a blow for a bit. I kept in contact with Winston for awhile and I have some piloting things to do but… Overwatch was my family, they saved my life… but we’re back in the game! I even have a girlfriend now!”

“Ain’t that sweet, what’s her name?”

“Her name is Emily, she’s an autumn spirit!”

Jesse listened to Lena ramble about her girlfriend for well over an hour before puttering around her own life for about fifteen minutes. Lúcio piped up after Lena ran out of stuff to talk about, telling Jesse about his own life and some of his work outside of Overwatch before joining them. It was actually interesting to hear about Lúcio’s work and Jesse and him actually went back and forth about good deeds and stories until Genji got off his shift from the hotel.

“Jesse!” Genji grinned after closing the door, knocking off his mask to run and give Jesse a hug.

“Still not used to you bein’ the huggin’ type,” Jesse grinned.

“Well I’m not an angst pile of vengeance and more angst anymore,” Genji grinned. Seeing those metal fangs still fucked Jesse up, but he kept that to himself. “And you are not a sleepless and depressed cowboy anymore, I see,” Genji said, playfully tugging on Jesse’s wild beard. Blackwatch regulations had kept him from keeping much but scruff (and some killer sideburns) way back when.

“Sleepless and depressed are still up for debate,” Jesse said, swatting Genji’s hands away. Genji's hands instead went to moving along Jesse’s metal arm, looking at all the layers and scratches. “Careful about the button on the elbow, else you’re bound to make a mess,” Jesse said when Genji’s hands tried to figure out what the hell was the thing coming off his elbow.

“I really want to ask but I know you don’t want to talk about it,” Genji said. “So, how about you fill me in on what you’ve been doing, Jess?”

So Jesse told the group a bit of running and being on the run, fighting off bounty hunters and monster hunters. Of having to look over his shoulder and sleeping in the worst places possible and sometimes being stuck as a werewolf for days at a time because Jesse needed the speed and the ability to hunt down animals and eat them whole without being sick. Jesse found himself rambling about the different places that he had been and all the humans and the non-humans that he met, memories, stories, a few times how he had swung by home to be protected by the pack just to catch his breath.

“I mean, havin’ a pack is really fuckin’ nice, I wish Blackwatch hadn’t made me paranoid about losin’ them. It’s kinda why I was thinkin’ of acceptin’ the Shimada offer because I know I wouldn’t have to jump ship like back in Blackwatch--”

“Oh?” Genji asked.

Jesse paused. Was he really thinking of accepting the offer? Guess he was if he was hem hawing about saying ‘no’ to them so much. Not to mention the sheer plethora of choices that Jesse realized that he had hardly had before he ended up getting kicked out of his folks’ house way, way back when. And Jesse was tired of running, even if he did not accept the offer then Jesse would still have to contend with monster hunters out there and sooner or later he would end up getting yet another bounty on his head because of his shit luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Huh, guess so,” Jesse said.

“...Hey Jesse?” Genji started.

“Not doin’ the mission,” Jesse warned softly.

“No, I know… if you do accept and you do end up getting married into the family… can I ask a favor? As your friend?” Genji asked, face open and earnest. Damn those puppy eyes of his.

“Huh?”

“If you get in… would you be willing to look out for my brother at least? I know what I’ve said about him in the past and you may have heard a bit about him from auntie but… I’ve forgiven him for what he did. I’ve forgive what happened to me because of what happened. And if someone is willing to harm my family, they’ll target Hanzo first and… please just keep an eye on him?”

“Shit man, you should add ‘puppy eyes’ to your list of weapons,” Jesse groaned. “Alright. _If_ I accept the offer and _if_ I get in, I’ll eye an eye out for him. But I ain’t gonna lie to no one, G man. If they find out I’ve been talking to you lot, I’m not gonna throw you guys under the bus but I certainly ain’t gonna hold it in from your brother that you’re alive.”

“Well… it’s all that I can hope for,” Genji shrugged, “I don’t know how Hanzo will react to finding out I’m alive… so I would appreciate if you kept it to yourself if he seems like he’ll react violently?”

“G man, I’d sooner fight the man himself then let him hurt you again,” Jesse rumbled.

“Ha! I see those pack instincts are still strong as ever, you gay cowboy nerd,” Genji teased. “How about we go out for dinner with you? My treat!”

“Now you’re talkin’.”

* * *

Contacting Mrs. Rin was something that Jesse pondered for a good three days to make sure that he had mostly made his mind to… _try_ this. Jesse went through the whole pros and cons and listening to his feelings and actually listening to his base instincts for the first time in years. The base instincts were loud as fuck and annoying at first and of course were jumping down at the thought of joining a pack and even more eager about even the possibility of puppies. But Jesse still took them into fact since they had saved his neck on more than one account and pa always said that instincts were often a guess of one’s true self.

Then of course, Jesse remembered that his folks were a thing and about packed his bag when he thought of Mama McCree catching wind of what he was doing. She would single handedly swim from North America to come make a rug out of his hide. She already was ready to knock the sense back into him from being on the run all the time and to hear that he was going to do this? Maybe it was best that Jesse did not let her on to what he was doing until he had a more solid plan of what he was doing. Knowing his ma, she would in fact, come to Japan to first kick Jesse’s butt and then whip any Shimada that she could get her hands on if she caught wind at the wrong time or it was not gently introduced to her. Come to think of it, his ma would probably just send his pa to come get him because Jesse never was once to disobey him and he would end up getting pulled home and forced to stay forever. Jesse shuddered at that thought.

By the end of the three days, Jesse found that he really did want to try, of his own volition. And on day three, Mrs. Rin happened to stop by for a visit to check up on him.

“Just the lady I was lookin’ for,” Jesse said. He had been taking his smoke breaks outside, loathe to smoke in his hotel room, and that particular day it was gloomy and humid so there were few people out and about to bother him.

“Oh? How may I be of assistance, McCree-san?” Mrs. Rin smiled. She had an umbrella to protect her from the rain that was coming.

“I was thinkin’... of acceptin’ the offer,” Jesse said, taking a drag in of his cigarillo and letting the smoke out around him, making sure to wave it away from Rin like a gentlemen.

Mrs. Rin looked surprised for all of half a second before she beamed practically ear to ear. Good ol’ pack instincts kicking into high gear at the thought of adding another no doubt, made Jesse grin a little and made his own base instincts buzz with warmth, ignoring the screaming ones that were going nuts with joy with just the thought of a stable pack. Another time and hopefully something that would not screw Jesse over in the future.

“Wonderful! My sincerest gratitude for accepting, McCree-san,” Mrs. Rin beamed.

“So uh… what now?”

“Ah, I actually set aside some time to treat you to lunch, I can start part of my interviewing process while we eat,” Mrs. Rin said before holding out her arm. Jesse took it like a gentleman, also taking and holding the umbrella too so it could be over his taller head.

“Why Mrs. Rin, I do declare, are you usin’ me fer a distraction ag’in?” Jesse asked, mock astonished and making his accent insufferably thick.

“McCree-san, I have no idea what you are on about,” Mrs. Rin giggled, making Jesse chuckle with her.

Ms. Rin once again took him to a place that read as a well off ma and pa shop, a small building a bit of a walk away from the hotel that sold a number of what Mrs. Rin described as ‘comfort food’ before two teenagers from behind the counter called out to her in friendly and informal tones. She greeted them back before sitting Jesse and herself at the far end of the counter, muttering something about ‘privacy’ to them and dropping ‘Shimada’ at least once before sitting down.

“Alright, let’s begin,” Mrs. Rin smiled. “I need you to answer me as honestly as possible. If something makes you uncomfortable, please let me know. Don’t hold back and simply be yourself.”

“You’re not goin’ to start this by askin’ me my favorite color?” Jesse joked.

“A favorite color actually holds more psychology information than you think, McCree-san,” Mrs. Rin smiled smugly.

Mrs. Rin started a round of mundane questions, things that did not seem like they could reveal much but Jesse answered them as honestly as he could. During a rather odd question about McCree’s opinion about god creatures, the teenagers asked Mrs. Rin for her order. Since Jesse had no idea what the menu said and the kids did not seem to speak much English, he just asked Mrs. Rin to order him something ‘gentle on a foreigner’s tongue’ before getting thrown back into the questions. Everything from seemingly odd questions to obvious questions about McCree’s opinion on certain hot debate questions, Jesse felt like he was drilled hard and long before the food even came.

“Lord almighty ma’am, you’re about to set off a fire alarm with that,” Jesse said, eyes burning as a bowl of something redder than his serape was set before Mrs. Rin. Jesse was thankful that another was not set before him, sure that his super senses would have had him balling fiery tears, instead getting something that looked deep fried and smelled heavenly.

“Ah, sorry, a bad habit,” Mrs. Rin said, taking a long whiff of her dish and looking almost… wistful. “My… a passed and dear relative of mine used to eat this all the time when I brought him here. It makes me feel closer to him, I suppose.”

Jesse wondered if she meant Genji…

“But, let us eat and then continue.”

After eating, and eating seconds too because Jesse needed the calories and Mrs. Rin seemed to actually enjoy the fiery hell dish that she ordered, Mrs. Rin went right back into the questions. After some food in both of them, they seemed a bit more at ease with one another. Mrs. Rin asked him a number of questions about himself, careful not to tread into too probing questions, about his age, a few questions about werewolves, once she asked about his arm but when he mentioned not wanting to talk about it because of the way he lost it she heeded and did not ask again.

They were actually getting into a discussion about prejudices against canine like non-humans when Mrs. Rin’s phone went off. Looking at it, she seemed surprised to see who it was that was messaging her now before choosing to just call the other person. Jesse caught the family name and an honorfix that he did not recall and a few muttering about ‘busy’ and ‘right away’ before she cut the call.

“My apologies, McCree-san, but a matter at home requires my presence and truthfully, it had run rather late,” Mrs. Rin explained softly.

“No problem, ma’am, go put out fires and all that good stuff,” Jesse said.

“At least let me show you back, maybe this problem will resolve it before I get there,” Mrs. Rin grumbled before getting her clutch out to pay for their lunch.

* * *

“ENOUGH!” Hanzo bellowed as he stepped into the main courtyard, power rippling out from him in thick waves. Hanzo had been called to this? And while Rin was out nonetheless.

The ghostly wraith, Reaper, had the front of one of his men’s clothing clutched in his talon tipped fingers, black smoke rolling off of him in waves. A head, with that bone white face so much like a skull, turned towards him, staring at him with depthless black holes for eyes. For a moment, Hanzo was worried that the man would be mauled, but those talons cracked open to let the man go instead. The bloodied man coughed before pitifully dragging himself away to lick his wounds and his shattered pride.

“My apologies for calling you here, honored clan head,” A woman, Moria, said with an almost mournful and apologetic tone in her voice. The light of the day glinted against the metal part of her face and those diseased claws of her vile diseased arm, thankfully not covered in blood. Thankfully it seemed that she had not used her healing/damaging Gorgon system on anyone. Those messes were always sickening to clean up. “I had merely come by when I had heard about your new batch of potential mates and things… escalated as they seem to do without your presence here.”

The man that Reaper had been tormenting passed by too close to Hanzo and he struck out with his hand, adding to the bloodied mess and tossing them across the courtyard. Hanzo spat out a sharp command to see a healer before flicking the blood off his talons and sliding out of his full glamor, allowing his white hair and power to flow freely. Despite Moria’s own medical skills and how she had kept his father alive for as long as she did when disease ravaged him, the woman always deeply unsettled him. Glamor weakened creatures and he did not want to be weak around this woman or that vile arm and what he knew it could do. Not to mention, he was always resentful of that time his father had been kept alive, his misery and torment under the man extended by this woman.

“My apologies for my pack mates, as always,” He sighed deeply, “Though perhaps the better phrase is to say ‘thank you’ to your bodyguard’s clemency this time around?”

Most of the time, the ill scented creature took limbs or put massive shotgun holes in pack mates when fights broke out, snarling and baring those long talons of his. There were only cuts, bruises and a few bloodied noses just from what he could see this time. That or Moira used her cruel Gorgon system to infect his pack mates with things that took all of their regeneration to heal from. But Reaper was also letting out smoke that smelled of heavy chemicals and death and that was killing the plants in this courtyard, rapidly wilting as they breathed in the foul cloud.

“He has become remarkably more… obedient to my will in these passing weeks since you saw him last, honored clan head,” Moria smiled, stepping towards the smoking creature and dragging her disease filled fingers against his bone mask. The smoke drew within the creature and it growled low and in its throat, a bloodied sound that sounded more akin with Eldritch creatures than any creature he knew. 

But eldritch creatures were strictly prohibited by law from being made again after the Omnic Crisis. While soldiers made from injecting DNA from various creatures had made the creatures powerful enough to combat the indestructible army that had suddenly rampage across the land, they were unethical all around. The pain of making them often drove them to madness ro suicide, they were in chronic and mind rending pain if they survived the psychological horror of their existence and when the war was over there was no need for creature made to lust for war and fighting sot hey suffered another round of psychic shattering madness. Hanzo wanted to give the good doctor the benefit of the doubt and thought of the creature as some darker form of wraith of malefic spirit tamed instead… of the terror and horror that were eldritch creatures. 

“Isn’t that right, Reaper?” Moira almost purred.

Reaper snarled in response, as he did instead of speaking. Moira patted his chest, as always treating the man like a fond pet instead of a person, before coming back to him with her head politely declined and her eyes downcast. A position meant to please hierarchy creatures but only served to set him on edge. When people did that to pack characters, they had a very skewed and outsider look of how pack instincts and pack creatures worked, people that thought of them as only creatures that sought to dominate and control.

“Now, as I said I came here to look over the medical files of your potential new mates, may I or would you prefer me to leave what chaos I have raught today?” Moira said, sickeningly submissive, “I understand if you would rather wish away my presence after the fuss that was created.”

“...no, I will give you the files,” Hanzo sighed, feeling trapped between politeness and the debt that his family felt like they owed this woman. Moria always tested his nerves but if he gave her what she wanted she would leave him be and let him go back to dealing with all the dumpster fires his pack had started and getting the pack back on track.

“My thanks, honored clan head,” Moria smiled before looking back to Reaper, “Please do not start anymore fights, my dear. Akande would be most displeased to find out that you are not taking your duty seriously.”

Reaper snarled before walking off towards where they had their vehicle parked, smoke trailing behind him. Now if only Moira would leave… perhaps after she got her files. Not wanting to be the improper host, even to this woman that he did not want to host, he took her in one of the guest rooms with drinks as she looked over the files with a cruel and precise eye.

“Hmm… werewolves, fascinating creatures,” She almost purred as she looked over the files. “Regeneration, transformation, extraordinary strength, extraordinary senses… but little natural ability for magic, extremely strong pack instincts, too sociable.”

“They work well with Okami,” He pointed out, feeling himself riled from this cold description of people. Pack creatures often sought out to protect one another because of the similar regards to family and friends and their packs. Besides, magic had never been very important to any pack creature, just the fea, spirits and other magic focused non-humans.

“True, a good substitute with no Okami available to make more,” Moira hummed. “I… oh my.”

 

A glance confirmed his fear that she was looking at McCree’s file. It looked like Rin had updated it with a few notes such as some general physical measurements and a note about a… missing arm?

“Extremely strange, werewolves are known for powerful regeneration, especially useful with limb removal. To see a werewolf that has a limb that had not grown back and even allowed a prosthetic limb is truly strange. I would love too--”

“Ms. Moria please,” He flatly said, letting his power flex. Moira was human and even with her gorgon system, there was no way on this earth that she would survive if he made an attempt on her life. Even if he was a pack creature and not a hierarchy creature, he would not allow her disrespect and insolence on this matter.

“My apologies, honored clan head,” Moira smiled, completely unapologetic, sending a pissed off shudder up his spine. “Allow me to continue…”

Hanzo sighed before leaving Moira to her sick and twisted work before leaving her, finding Rin had finally made it, almost bumping into her on the hallway.

“My apologies, clan head--”

“It’s already been taken care of, how was McCree-san?” Hanzo sighed, beckoning his aunt to follow him as they walked to his office.

“He was extremely pleasant, I think I have a good grasp on his person,” Rin said as she followed after him. “He appears kind, considerate, a good sense of humor, loyal and very sly. He seems to have a few things haunting them but dealing with it well enough. All in all I do believe Jesse would make a fine addition to the family.”

“Are you still hoping to set him up with me?” Hanzo asked.

“I wish to know a bit more about him before I make that, but I could see you two making a decent enough match,” Rin smiled.

“You forget, that would make more than one of the older pack members angry,” Hanzo pointed out. “They want me to marry someone that would greatly expand the family’s reputation, wealth, power--”

“I have been looking into that. While human wise there is not much to gain from joining with the McCree side, non-human wise it would greatly improve our reputation. The McCree line is known as powerful werewolves, though admittedly mostly in North America, and known for being passionate, loyal and an honorable pack and well respected among non-humans.”

“More than enough for those old bastards, at least.... Is he truly kind?”

“Oh?” Rin smiled smugly.

“You can’t dress a man up and expect me not to be slightly interested,” Hanzo huffed before giving his aunt a small smirk. “Do not taunt indulgence and then not indulge.”

“Yes, he’s very sweet and very kind, he always refers to me as ma’am and minds his manners,” Rin smiled, only slightly smug. “Doesn’t appear to know much Japenese but from what I understand, he does speak three languages and two of those fluently so I think teaching him would not be too much trouble.”

“Mmm.”

“I’m going to interview him more tomorrow, hopefully I’ll have a full grasp of his character.”

“And after that?”

“I see who he would match best and set up a meeting, of course.”

“Well then… duty calls, oba-san.”

“Of course, Shimada-sama.”

* * *

Mrs. Rin contacted Jesse a day later for another meeting. She took him to the same place as their prior meeting.

“Stress food,” Mrs. Rin smiled guiltily when a bowl of fiery red death was set before her.

“Stress? You okay ma’am?” Jesse asked. He got a bowl of much more mild noodles and veggies, smelled divine.

“It’s… someone that the clan has hired. She’s… one of those people that just produce stress wherever she goes and makes life a living hell but she’s stuck because of obligations and all that…” Mrs. Rin sighed deeply before stuffing her face. After downing half the bowl in a breath, she turned back to Jesse with a much more relaxed smiled. “Now, ready?”

Mrs. Rin asked him a lot of in depth questions this time though. Ones that took more than a few minutes to really get his answer across and really made him think to answer what he felt was right. Everything from opinions on different non-humans, to humans, to weapon usage, to taste and interests and pretty much everything Jesse had ever thought of and had opinions about, and even a few things that he had not really thought about. Jesse felt like he actually knew himself better when Mrs. Rin actually paused and asked him if he wanted to stay there for dinner or go someplace else.

“Jesus, that late already?” Jesse asked.

“Time flies when the mind is occupied,” Mrs. Rin smiled, “How about a walk to continue while we decide?”

Mrs. Rin held his arm as they walked from the small restaurant and out into the darkening day. The sun was setting and throwing oranges, reds and yellows everywhere and made the slightly gritty little neighborhood seem a bit softer and even just a little ethereal. Made the gold of Mrs. Rin’s eyes seem all the more vibrant and non-human and Jesse wondered if his possible future husband would have such gorgeous gold eyes as well.

“Excuse me, ma’am, would it… be alright if I asked my own question?” Jesse asked as Mrs. Rin started leading the way at a leisurely pace. Technically they had all the time in the world, what with how long they both were going to live.

Mrs. Rin’s eyes flashed with something before something that Jesse could have only guessed to be a very true and very intrigued smile crossed her face. “Of course, McCree-san.”

“I was wonderin’... if you could tell me who you think you might set me up with, with what you know now?” Jesse asked.

“Oh?” Mrs. Rin smiled, a coy and devilish smile on her face. Could read him like a book, though Jesse felt a little better knowing that with how much they had talked in the last two days that he had practically gave her a tdlr guide to his person. “Mmm… I see no harm in telling you.”

“With your interests male partners, and with the candidates that I have, I’m not looking for a partner that would match you so much as seeing if you would match with one person. And I can tell you, you two are looking like quite the splendid match,” Mrs. Rin smiled, only slightly smug.

“Mind if I ask who that one person is?”

“Hmm… again I don’t see the harm. I am currently looking to see if you would be a good spouse for Hanzo Shimada, our pack leader.”

Jesse threw a very loud, in his head, curse up at whatever gods and hoped that Mrs. Rin did not hear his abundance of crass language. Of all the shit luck and all the shit places to be, of fucking course Jesse would end up in this spot, with someone thinking of putting him up with the guy that almost killed his best friend, of course, not after m-

Genji, had to remember Genji and what he said about his brother. Traumatized, brain washed and mentally conditioned since childhood, likely holds unwitting resentment towards the pack, likely extremely self loathing. Likely resentful of his position as status in the pack.

“McCree-san?” Mrs. Rin asked softly.

“...Oh sorry,” Jesse said, shaking his head to clear those thoughts away. “I just seem a little low on the pecking order to be marryin’ that high on it.”

“To be honest, McCree-san? We’re not looking to add power or fame or wealth into the family,” Mrs. Rin explained, “We’re not seeking ways of expanding superficial things… we’re looking to add good people into our pack and while yes we’re looking more for people that will give us children, I’m making sure to add only good people that will be good packmates and good parents. We have suffered for many years because of corrupt and greedy packmates that have sullied our name, our honor and our image. Not only that, but because of this greedy, our newest generation of pups are sick or extremely human like, we’re losing our godhood, McCree-san.”

Well shit… no wonder they were expanding their waters this desperately. Losing godhood… that would make a number of people panic and not just the Shimada pack but anyone involved with them. A family that was suddenly fraile like humans… shit.

“I am… quite sick of it, really,” Mrs. Rin sighed, “How vile and corrupt and cruel and evil some of the pack is. We used to be a kind bunch, honorable, charitable, caring and now… we simply aren’t. We need outside interference at this point or we will vanish into history like so many others.”

Like more than one person that Jesse knew.

“Now, let us speak of lighter things...:”

* * *

When Jesse was stressed, he liked to take on a… hairier and larger form than his usual and just… be. It had been something that he had developed in Deadlock. After all, no one messed with you when you were six foot something and made of fur, fangs, claws and talons and ready to tear a throat out or carve up a face if it got too close. Years later, it still felt comforting to be in the beast form when Jesse was anxious or nervous, especially since he had put on the weight, muscle and extra foot of mass in that form.

Not wanting people to walk in on the one armed, seven foot and shaggy as hell werewolf, Jesse instead killed two birds with one stone and instead got in the shower and let the water run over him as he sat on his furry ass on the hard floor. The shower was not meant for someone of Jesse’s size in this form, but Jesse never really had a problem with cramped spaces thankfully and still felt secure and calm even squeezed into the shower. The room stank slightly of wet dog, especially the longer that Jesse sat in there, but some airing out and using some of the cheap scent blockers that came with the bathroom toiletries and that could be fixed right up.

Right now Jesse needed his head cleared. Hearing about the Shimada family like that… and him potentially being matched up with Hanzo… shit there was so much going on in Jesse’s head that it was hard to actually tell what he was feeling or thinking about this shit show. Sure, base instincts were jazzed to hell about joining a pack and knowing that he did not need to jump ship for a mission. Base instincts also were pissed to hell about ‘bad packmates’ and wanted to kick ass. But Jesse’s own thoughts and feelings… sure Jesse knew that Hanzo was just a sad by product of a much larger picture, but Genji was his friend and a pack mate from way back when and base instincts were torn between nurture and anger. Nurture someone that had been hurt by pack, the people that were supposed to fight the world for you and have committed the ultimate betrayal by hurting… and anger that a pack creature hurt another pack creature and one of Jesse’s at that.

A rumble escaped Jesse’s maw, wanting to mutter ‘fuck’ but canine teeth, tongue and lips not quite made for articulate sounds.

If Jesse went by base instincts, they still wanted to do this and they definitely wanted to help Hanzo out. If Jesse went by his own thoughts and feelings, he was too torn up to make a clear headed decision. Another rumble escaped Jesse. Why was life so fucking hard… could not just be black and white and yes and no. Shit like this… grey… Jesse did not know what to do with grey. But grey was all he had and he had to make the most of it…

A knock at his door alerted him to quickly change back, dry off and throw on something dry to answer it.

“You smell like a wet dog,” Genji teased behind his mask.

“I did just get out of the shower,” Jesse smirked lopsidedly, “What’s up?”

Genji strolled in and Jesse realized that there was a small package tucked up underneath his arm. When the door closed, Genji shoved his mask up out of the way before handing it over.

“No one else wanted to deliver it, too scared of ‘the new Shimada plaything’,” Genji grinned while Jesse just groaned before thumping his shoulder.

The package, as it turned out, was a rather nice cellphone. Jesse looked it over before powering it on. Looked like there were only a few basic things installed, like messaging and such. When Jesse pulled up contacts, it only had one number under a ‘Shimada, Rin’. Figuring it was her way of finding more time to speak with him, Jesse shot her a simple message.

[ME: howdy ma’am]

[SHIMADA RIN: Hello Jesse, I see the phone got to you!]

Jesse clicked a few things as the ‘typing’ icon bounced in the corner of the screen.

[RIN: I wanted to give you this just in case pack business became too much or if you needed a way to speak to me that was not face to face. Also, because I genuinely enjoy speaking with you.]

“Who is it, who is it?” Genji asked, trying to peer at the phone only for Jesse to keep moving it out of the way.

“None of your business, nosey,” Jesse retorted, nudging Genji back with his stump arm.

[ME: mighty kind of ya]

[RIN: The next few days I am unfortunately busy, so most of the communication will be over this. However, I was wondering… if all goes well, would you like to meet Hanzo next week? It can be over this or at the hotel or someplace public…]

“Ha!” Genji said, yanking the phone out of Jesse’s hand and prancing off with it. Jesse yelped and gave chase, but Genji was always faster and more nimble and Jesse already saw his thumbs move over the screen.

“Huh, you got paired up with Hanzo?” Genji asked.

“Gimme the phone back,” Jesse snapped, wishing he had put his metal arm back on after getting out of the shower. It would have given him the edge he needed.

“I’m not gonna answer, just seeing what she’s typing… and if I remember anything about Hanzo, if you want him to be comfortable don’t go somewhere with a lot of people. Hanzo’s got social anxiety like no one’s business,” Genji said as he kept jumping out of Jesse’s reach, just a hair’s breadth from Jesse’s fingertips to taunt him.

“Please don’t give me this kind of advice,” Jesse groaned.

Jesse managed to get Genji when he seemed focused on what Rin was saying and grabbed the phone. Instead of yanking it away, Jesse just hit the call button and smugly smiled as Genji immediately jumped away and sucked in his breath to avoid being heard. Genji glowered playfully as Jesse put the phone to his ear.

“Sorry about that, I don’t have my arm on and it’s hard to text with one hand,” Jesse said, using all his willpower to not sound smug.

“Ah, no problem,” Mrs. Rin said over the phone. “So?”

“Well if you think I’m the man for Hanzo, I don’t see why not,” Jesse said. “Though, this is still kinda awkward for me. Can we go somewhere where we won’t have a big audience or a lot of prying eyes and ears?”

“Oh, of course! That is actually perfect, the clan head is… not one for crowds or… strangers in general. I have the perfect place in mind. After a few more questions I should have a good date in mind to do it and I will make sure to tell you the details of when and were.”

“Mighty kind of you, ma’am,” Jesse said.

“No problem. I wish you a good night, Jesse.”

“Night, ma’am.”

When Jesse hung up, Genji was on him in a second.

“Ha,” Was all Genji said.

“Still not doin’ the mission,” Jesse pointed out.

“No, but you are in a prime position to look after my brother,” Genji shrugged before giving Jesse his puppy eyes and making Jesse groan. Fucking puppy eyes.

“Yeah, yeah… don’t suppose you got anymore pointers about your brother?”

* * *

Hanzo looked up from some financial reports when Rin walked into his office with a file and a warm smile that told a story of how she was up to absolutely no good and that he was likely to suffer. However, as she was his loving aunt, Hanzo merely beckoned her in and waited for her to take a seat across from him at his desk before putting side his report for the time being to focus on her and what terror she was about to unleash upon him.

“How may I help you today, Rin?” He asked softly.

“Agreeing to see this potential marriage candidate that I have for you,” Rin smiled sweetly, making Hanzo choke on his spit and be ever so grateful that he was not trying to eat, drink or smoke at that moment, else he would have inhaled something foul. Still, he thumped his chest as he cleared his sore throat before turning to look at Rin, still smiling so sweetly.

“Excuse me?” He coughed.

“I have a marriage candidate that I want you to meet,” Rin said, handing over the file for him, “I believe that I have an excellent match for you, clan head.”

Hesitantly, he pulled the file over to him and flipped it open, unsurprisingly finding that it was the McCree man again. The picture had been updated though, likely from Rin’s phone. A handsome face, without question, naturally dark and rich skin beautifully dashed with freckles and a few slight scars and a lot of untamed scruff. Lines, clearly from plenty of wide and deep smiles, perfectly framed the sides of his mouth and clear and warm brown eyes looked ahead with ease.

“You are interested,” Rin smiled, smug as ever when she had something right about him.

“Aesthetic or sexual interest does not mean that he would make a good mate,” He retorted, flipping through his file, finding nothing updated surprisingly. Rin did said that it was just a candidate for marriage. If Hanzo showed any sign of approval after meeting him than Jesse’s file would be updated then.

“True, but I have spoken to him and to a great deal of depth,” Rin dug the tip of one of her talons into the file and dragging it back over to her. “He is a gentlemen, kind, understanding, strong pack instincts. Just the kind of mate that I think would be good for you and to you, respectfully clan head.”

“You are too forward,” He gruffed, though playfully and certainly with no real force.

“And you are stubborn, respectfully, clan head,” Rin smirked back.

A long sigh escaped Hanzo’s chest as he turned back to this file. Rin was only this playful and prodding when she felt like she was, in her own words, onto ‘gold’. Which meant that she would bother him with this man until he caved and it was in his best interest and his delicate and already fraying nerves to just give her what she wanted and proved her right or wrong. The thing was that… she was always right, something that she bragged about in less formal moments, and that terrified him.

Father had always been adamant that he would never be happy, that they would only want something to fuck or just be after his power, something that Sojiro had reiterated in his last days as his brain rotted in his skull and he lost his rational thinking and sanity. It had been something that had been reinforced since Hanzo was a budding teenager, so it was something of stubborn thinking that any potential mates would only be seeking to see him as a sexual thing or just a stepping stone in a wild power seeking line. 

Rin had never pushed a mate on him, knowing what his father had done to him and his thinking. This was the first time she was pushing a mate and giving him such a beaming review. So maybe…

“Very well, please inform me of the details when you have them,” Hanzo sighed, “I will be ready.”

“My thanks, clan head,” Rin beamed, “I have some more of the interview process to do but… how about next Saturday?”

“Very well,” He sighed, “What could go wrong.”

As much as Hanzo was torn about it, he realized that he was mostly looking forward to this meeting. It would be a situation where he had control after all, it would be on his approval or disapproval if anything came of it. While Hanzo had control over many things, something this… intimate in nature gave him a flush of confidence that he could control it. Not to mention, McCree was a very attractive man and Rin spoke on praises of his personality. If they could not make a good couple well… Hanzo would not feel the evening totally lost unless McCree was hiding an ugly side to himself, though Rin was pretty sure that was not the case. Still… there was a certain thrill about it, in a very odd way that foretold of the wounds on Hanzo’s psyche but… disregarding that.

The meeting came sooner than he expected, getting lost in pack affairs and business. But a message from Rin Saturday morning reminded him to meet her and Jesse McCree in one of her garden cafes that she owned, maintained and loved in her spare time. The reminder only reminded him of his mounting nerves that were making even his normally steady stomach churn relentlessly. Actually lately his stomach as of late had been very easily churned and Hanzo cursed the world for it. So many things swirling around his head, the possibilities that he thought no longer possible after all these centuries. So Hanzo dressed in his best, brushed his hair until it shone and then reluctantly reverted to his full glamor so he could go out into the public to this meeting.

Rin’s garden cafes were inside large buildings and home to large bountiful gardens and largely spaced tables that made it seem like one was enjoying themselves in colorful bio domes. They were popular with the more creative and nature loving crowds, drawing healthy crowds all year round for their seasonal flowers and year round heat from their greenhouse effect. Rin always loved plants (and secretly pumping them full of magic to make them bloom and flourish even in abysmal conditions) and cafes, so they really were her pride and joy outside of the Shimada family. Not to mention, based on some of the reports that crossed Hanzo’s desk, did very well for itself.

The meeting was in the closest one to the Shimada home in Hanamura. It was also, thankfully, one of her smaller ones, so when Hanzo arrived there was not the usual crowd that he knew they garnered, even with the spacing. Instead there was sparse people admiring the freshly blooming spring flowers and blooming fruit trees that would later bare fruit to be used in menu items. That meant that there was no one to see him sweat slightly from nerves and mildly upset stomach as he tracked down Rin and Jesse McCree, sitting in the table farthest from everyone.

“Ah, there you are, clan head,” Rin smiled as he approached, respectfully standing to give him a respectful bow and then gesture to the man with her. The man stood to his full height, an impressive six feet, giving Hanzo a rather polite bow and then offering his hand to shake. A rather large… calloused looking hand... “Clan head, allow me to introduce Jesse McCree. McCree-san, this is our clan head, Shimada Hanzo.”

McCree’s picture really did not do the man justice. Now actually in person, Hanzo could actually see the finer details. Like there were a number of fainter sun freckles across his cheeks and strong nose, or the little flicks of silver in his warm brown eyes, or the charming little creases at the corners of his eyes. Not to mention the man’s size, Hanzo was by no means short, but standing next to McCree made him feel short. And the warmth rolling thickly off of McCree, off the hand that Hanzo shook with more than a little glee in the back of his mind. Or the absolutely charming and easy going smile that McCree offered him, the one that made his laugh lines crease and the little creases at the corners of his eyes crinkle charmingly.

“Howdy,” McCree drawled out in a delightful baritone that had Hanzo’s attention. A… American cowboy accent? Strange how Hanzo felt like he should have called it tacky but now just wanted to call it charming and just… suited the man he did not know before him.

“Greetings,” Hanzo said sort of absently before clearing his throat. Now was not the time to thirst like a love struck pup.

No matter how handsome that man may be… hmm… perhaps this man would be Hanzo’s undoing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER NOTES!
> 
> 1.) Rin is Hanzo's aunt through marital bond, she married Hanzo's blood aunt, thus their informal relationship and why she likes to tease him  
> 2.) The Shimada family is large and mostly in Hanamura or the close surrounding area and mostly based in Japan in general. There are family members out of country, but they are only a handful and more distant cousins with little to do with the family other than name.  
> 3.) Reyes is a vampire in this au, how he survived the blast will be explained later. Morrison is also non-human but what he is and how he survived will be explained later.  
> 4.) Lucio's fantasy race is a healing god, high middle tier. He's known as a son of Osanyin, a Latin American god associated with healing


	4. Home is Where the Pack is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Implied blossoming Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada, mentioned mental illness, mentioned depression/anxiety/bpd, very brief mentions to bigotry, one kinda sort 'big dick' McCree joke (someone is teasing Hanzo for shits and giggles), chatlogs
> 
> rewritten chapter

These meetings were never Hanzo’s forte, the man thought as he sat down. 

Sojiro had never thought him worthy of taking a mate most of his young adult life. When Sojiro had deemed Hanzo worthy enough of seeking a mate, no one was conveniently worthy of him to be his mate. Hanzo always thought it was another way for his father used him as a tool for his gains and games, taunting the possibility of marrying so high in the Shimada family while also trying to manipulate Hanzo’s life. Honestly, why Sojiro did it, Hanzo would never know because Sojiro seemed to get nothing out of it other then seemingly demented sick satisfaction from doing it. Or perhaps trying to instill some sort of mad drive into other Okami families to ‘try and reach their level’.

Then suddenly when Hanzo was a full fledged adult, the meetings stopped and Hanzo was confined to Shimada grounds ‘to be of use to his family’, though why Sojiro was suddenly disinterested in making sure that the family continued on was truly a worrying thing. Perhaps it was part of Sojiro’s paranoia and madness that had come with his brain rot and perhaps it was just another one of his father’s cruel plans to control the world around him. No one knew because his father told no one nothing that he did not want to share, which was most everything. But… that was over. Sojiro was dead and Hanzo was… intrigued.

From what Hanzo remembered of these cursed meetings, they were awkward, weird and often left him seeking refuge from any other sentient form of life afterwards. But that was when Hanzo was a young adult and his father was breathing down his neck while glaring at ‘lesser Okami’. Now it was just Rin sitting next to Hanzo and a handsome man sitting across from him with an easy and warm smile on his face. The fact that Hanzo had control in this situation seemed surreal.

“So,” Rin smiled, starting this horribly awkward event off, “Clan head, do you have any questions for McCree-san?”

So many questions, so very many questions, but even if he had become something of a recluse over the decades, he still had social graces enough to pause and think about what this questions might mean if blurted out. First meetings were key to relationships, setting them either well or poorly that needed hard work to overcome to make right. If this man was deemed worthy enough to be his mate and Hanzo himself was… _interested_ , then he truly needed this to go well. So, the arm was out of the question so…

“You are American, correct?” Hanzo chose carefully.

“Yep,” Jesse smiled, “Ain’t caucasian though. Half hispanic, half Native American.”

A nod, that made sense with the darkness of McCree’s skin and the rich darkness of his hair and the shape of his facial features. Truthfully, Sojiro would probably be rolling in his grave at the very thought of this meeting happening and Hanzo’s budding interest. Marrying a man, non-Okami, a non-Japanese person… some sick part of Hanzo was glad that he was disappointing his father, and the other, the beaten child that he still was, found his stomach churning nervously and angrily in his gut. Actually Hanzo’s stomach was still churning from before and he quietly asked Rin for something, his dear and sweet aunt having taken to carrying such a thing for him in her small purse.

“You are a werewolf, correct?” Hanzo asked after chewing up an antacid.

“Yep, uh, I think someone said once that the specific kind was… grey wolf?” Jesse said, heavy brow furrowing a moment in his thought to dredge up the name.

“A gray wolf,” He said, mimicking the words and letting them roll of the tongue.

“Canis lupus baileyi,” Rin said, taking out her phone to show Hanzo a picture of the animal equivalent of McCree’s transformed state. A beautiful creature, with a pelt of browns, reds, silvers, blacks and greys with lighter bellies. Scrawnier than Hanzo had expected, slender limbs and on the smaller side, but full glamor was not always made to look similar to the completely uncloaked counterpart and sometimes often a way of tricking those that would try and make prey of them. But still… a very handsome wolf. Hanzo found himself dragging the phone closer to get a closer look.

“A gorgeous coat,” Hanzo muttered.

“Mighty kind of ya,” McCree beamed. Hanzo felt a faint flush that did not reach his cheeks before giving Rin her phone back.

“I will admit my knowledge of werewolves are limited, so I am not sure of what your species is and is not alright talking about,” Hanzo said. Once again Sojiro’s okami superiority was harming Hanzo’s ability to work with other species of non-humans.

“Not that much different then folks like you, I’d like to think,” McCree said. “Don’t care much for bein’ compared to domesticated dogs, don’t like being chalked up to ‘aggressive attack dog’. We werewolves don’t have much a talent for magic, never have and probably never will. Uh… we live pretty damn long. Probably not as long as you folks, but I know my grandpappy was well over a millennia old when he decided that he was good and done with life and passed away peacefully. But he was also something called a ‘skinwalker’ and I guess that’s more a witch then anythin’...”

A small pause ensued as they seemed to awkwardly wait for someone to try and carry on the conversation. A server came by with a full teapot and glasses, giving Hanzo something to focus on other then the mounting awkwardness and tension in his shoulders. Damn his almost complete and utter lack of social skills…

“I don’t think I’ve ever done somethin’ like this, to be honest,” Jesse suddenly said but with that warm and easy going smile, “Sorry if this is awkward.”

“No, no, I do not often… do this either,” He lamely added. It was sweet that Jesse was shouldering the awkwardness of this, but it was mostly his fault.

“I think you’re doin’ just fine,” Jesse smiled warmly, suddenly making Hanzo feel so much better. “Though I gotta say, a handsome man like you? I’m surprised you don’t got suitors hangin’ off you left and right.”

Well now. Hanzo cocked an eyebrow at Jesse’s not too subtle flirtation. Not that Hanzo objected, quite the opposite in fact, but it had been some time and he was both surprised and perhaps a little bit more than intrigued by the man’s forwardness.

“I am a bit of a recluse… I do not interact as much as I should,” He admitted, fidgeting with his glass as he sought words to fill the silence. “Appearances can only help one so much before a cold enough personality puts them off, especially family and pack oriented creatures like ourselves.”

“The badass lone wolf, huh?” Jesse smiled, teasing and joking lightly.

“Yes, an adapt description,” He chuckled back, “Though Rin is trying to change that, thus this meeting.”

Jesse laughed warmly, a sound that warmed even Hanzo’s own heart and he allowed himself a small chuckle. Rin was just smugly looking on, of course basking in her victory but he would give it to her. Jesse seemed like a decent fellow from this brief moment of speaking. Hanzo felt his budding interest only grow.

“McCree-san, do you have any questions for the clan head?” Rin asked, to keep the conversation going.

“Just few,” Jesse teased light heartedly, before comically humming which only drew another chuckle out of the two of them. “I can’t really see them, but it looks like you got tattoos up one arm. They mean anythin’?”

“They are familiar summoning marks,” Hanzo said, pushing his sleeve up to reveal some of the yellow marks that went further up the length of his arm. They went from his wrist up to his shoulder and then onto his left pectoral. Even under Hanzo’s full glamor, they showed through, in case he needed his familiars to come to his aid. “I can summon two wolf spirits from here.”

“Two? Damn, I don’t know much about magic but I know that it’s hard to even summon one for powerful magic users. Two is just damn impressive,” Jesse grinned, clearly impressed.

“Ah, thank you,” He said, scratching at his chin. “I have heard about your own skills, your aim and such. Very impressive, Mr. McCree.”

“Mighty kind of ya,” Jesse grinned, beaming brightly.

Hanzo picked at the edge of his sleeve as the conversation once again slipped into awkward silence. As interested as he was in McCree, he struggled to find something to talk about with him. Pleadingly, Hanzo looked to his aunt to save him with her god like charisma skills, or at least in comparison to his. His aunt merely gave him a knowing smirk before turning to McCree.

“McCree-san, tell us some of your travels. You seem well traveled and have those look in your eye, the look of experience,” Rin said.

“Man oh man, the places I’ve been,” McCree chuckled.

McCree described living in the southern part of the united starts for his young life. Hanzo had traveled a few places, for clan business, but had remained on family grounds most of his long life, so when McCree described desert as far as the eyes could see, desert flowers and cacti, the dry heat, it almost seemed mythical. Hanzo found himself enthralled by McCree’s description of his home, the places around it, of traveling with his mother’s pack to New Mexico on the occasion, of traveling deep into untouched land to be with his father’s pack. Of a youth howling and racing through hot sands and old roads and little towns.

“Not gonna lie, didn’t leave the southern US much until Overwatch,” McCree said.

That caught Hanzo’s attention.

“Overwatch?” Hanzo asked.

Overwatch was that organization that had tried to bring non-humans and humans together to tackle the Omnic Crisis. As far as Hanzo knew, they were dismantled about twenty years ago under a hail fire of ugly accusations. Hanzo would have never paid attention to them if some of the darker accusations had not been that the organization was harboring and still using Eldritch Abominations and there were violent anti-human and violent anti non-human members among them.

“Yeah… fucked up as a kid, got myself in trouble and Overwatch… well they said they could save me before I got thrown into a non-human slammer for the rest of my life,” McCree said, scratching through his hair.

“Were… the stories true? Did you work with one of the Eldritch Abominations?” Rin asked.

“Not that I know, Overwatch was pretty paranoid about keeping those two a secret and went well outta their way to keep them hushed up. As far as anyone knows, they died when the Swiss base was wiped from existence,” McCree said. “So maybe? Not knowingly though.”

“How did you feel about that?” Rin asked, “Knowing about their existence.”

“Kinda sad, to be honest,” McCree said. “Yeah sure, they stopped that Omnic Crisis and all that. But afterwards? Just hearing half the shit they went through? And then dyin’ when the base blew? Just… a lot of bullshit and hell to put someone through.”

A fair answer, Hanzo thought, one that clearly showed empathy. That was something that worked in favor of Hanzo’s favor of the man. Though it was not something that Hanzo could ponder for long, as Rin’s phone started going off and based on the soured look she gave the caller id, it seemed like their meeting was over. After grumbling to the person on the other end in very soured Japanese, likely to avoid letting McCree hear their family drama, Rin angrily hung up.

“It appears that we are needed back home, clan head,” Rin grumbled darkly.

“Ah, well…” Hanzo said lamely before standing.

“My apologies for cutting this short, McCree-san,” Rin said, giving McCree a soft smile, “But duty calls and all that.”

“No problem, no problem,” McCree smiled back before facing Hanzo and holding out his hand. “Nice meetin’ ya, Mr. Shimada.”

“And I with you,” Hanzo said, giving the man a smile and shaking that extended hand.

“Head home without me and I’ll make sure that McCree makes it back,” Rin said.

Reluctantly, Hanzo went to go see what fires his family had started now.

* * *

“I meet your brother today.”

McCree was currently smoking his way through a pack of cheap cigarettes, sitting in the team’s room, the window open to let some of the smoke out though no was really cared. Right now only Lena and Genji were in the room. Lucio and 76 were out at the moment doing… something, McCree had glossed over the details, lost in his own thoughts when Genji had explained where they were.

“Oh…” Genji fiddled with the glass in front of him. The same glass of sake that Genji had been nursing for the past hour because he knew why McCree had come over and neither of them had wanted to say anything until McCree could not take the tension in the air anymore.

“...I see what you meant by…” McCree let the unsaid words hang in the air.

“...I was really hoping… that they wouldn’t but…” Genji sniffed, quickly rubbing his eyes.

“You know I thought I would be mad the first that I saw him and I was for a hot second but just… you could see the pain in his eyes, G man. He’s a broken man,” McCree sighed, snubbing another cigarette into the quickly filling ashtray before quickly lighting another. “He didn’t seem that bad when we were talkin’ but… dammit Genji.”

“You two going to be okay?” Lena asked softly, “I don’t really get pack instincts but… it looks like this is hard on both of you.”

“Yeah just...we’re in bred to help other pack non-humans, we’re nurturin’ creatures by nature. We see a hurtin’ pack creature and we want to help, no ifs ands or buts unless they’re really fuckin’ hostile and even then,” McCree explained and then sighed, letting out another cloud of smoke. “And trust me when I say, Hanzo is a hurting’ man.”

“Your broken pack syndrome probably makes it worse, huh?” Genji muttered, clearly distressed by the news of his brother’s state.

“What’s that?” Lena asked.

“Broken pack syndrome...it’s… it’s a leftover survival instinct from when most every non-human was more animal like than human,” Jesse explained. “It’s for pack members that have lost pack mates to predators, disease or age or whatever. It encourages them to seek a pack as soon as possible to keep them protected, and it just floods our systems with nasty shit emotionally and sometimes physically to make it snappy. When a pack non-human has been uprooted abruptly from a pack for whatever reason, they can suffer from acute depression, excessive need to make a pack from anyone, emotional instability and bouts of uncontrollable anger or loss of control of transformations.” 

“In more modern times, it served well when hunters have almost wipe packs, encouraging pack non-humans to seek the safety of numbers, something that even god like hunters could hardly beat,” Genji continued. “But in the absence of potential pack mates, it has assured that... pack non-humans find a nice shady spot to lay down and rot away, corpses never to be found by humans.”

“That’s awful!” Lena gasped. “You’ve been dealing with that, Jess?”

“Ignorin’ it mostly,” Jesse sighed. “At least back then in Overwatch, packin’ up with people made it easier to deal with. I had Genji, Reyes, Morrison, Angie, Amari, hell even Reinhardt and Torbjorn let me pack with them to make it easier. And now…”

Jesse had been having some sharp mood drops as his base chemistry started registering his mental trauma again after being pushed to the corner of his mind for so long. Now that the possibility of a stable pack was within reach, base instincts that Jesse had thought buried had clawed their way through self control and years of tuning out and were begging for the safety and comfort that a pack could provide. Did not help that Jesse was starting to develop a crush on Hanzo apart from the screaming instincts that demanded Jesse save the man. Hanzo seemed like, despite the prickly surface, to be a good man with a dry sense of humor and good heart. Not to mention handsome as all hell.

“You’d stay, even if we found out who was trying to kill everyone,” Genji said.

“Yeah, I’d stay, come hell or high water and even then. I’d fight any god hand to hand to stay,” Jesse sighed, taking another drag.

“It’ll be good,” Genji said, mouth twitching up into a sort of relieved little smile, “A stable pack for you, a good man for my brother, and if I can gently tell my brother that I’m alive and him not to react violently, I can come visit the both of you!”

“That’d be the dream, huh?” Jesse laughed, letting his cigarette hang on his lower lip. “Speakin’ of, how’s your guys’ mission goin’ along?”

“Good. As it turns out, with the pack looking to expand they’re also expanding their security. 76 and Lucio are setting it up to try and smuggle some of us into their numbers and try and move the op along from there,” Genji told him and then grinning crookedly, “We might be seeing each other around the house, bro.”

“I’d rather not think about that,” McCree laughed loudly, “Knowin’ our combined shit luck, you’d end up guarding your brother’s room at night.”

“Ugh! The possibilities of the horrors,” Genji laughed. “I love you bro, but not like that and not nearly enough for that!”

The three of them had a good laugh about it, til tears streamed from their eyes and they wailed loud enough for one of their neighbors to gruff and bang on the wall. But even then, when they cut it down to barely restrained giggles, they still enjoyed the lightened mood. When the giggling calmed down, they kept to lighter and fun topics, no one wanting to think about what they were doing or their past hurts. Right now they were just three friends having a laugh and a good conversation.

* * *

McCree was given Hanzo’s number by Rin, since there was apparently something going down at the Shimada house that was keeping them a bit too busy to plan another meet and greet. Just fine for McCree, since it seemed that Genji was right and Hanzo seemed all nerves about strangers, so it would be easier to talk to him over texts and phone calls. Though McCree was loath to pester Hanzo at any given moment, he was surprised when Hanzo always seemed to answer him promptly.

[ME: howdy there stranger, how was yer day?]  
[HANZO: Troublesome and annoying.]  
[ME: i got a good ear if you need to get that off yer chest]

Trivial little conversations, little things that brought them closer together. And apparently meant a lot to Hanzo, who would initiate the conversations if McCree was ‘too quiet’ for ‘too long’, though this was after a week of texting back and forth and Hanzo had warmed up a bit. But this was not something one could rush, especially if Jesse had an idea of the shit that Hanzo had been through, and he was not fitting to be rushing anything. If nothing else, it was nice to socialize with someone without fear of needing to run or look over his shoulder pestering him. Pack creatures were sociable by nature and Jesse felt like he had been ignoring his nature a little too long with how he well he was taking to some of these old and almost forgotten habits and quirks.

[ME: im beginnin to think that some of the bars know we re not humans]  
[ME: actually had a drink last night with a kick]  
[HANZO: Ha, I should share with you some of our liquors. They were made with okami in mind.]  
[ME: sounds more like someone is fittin to make me wake up naked in a dumpster somewhere]  
[HANZO: Ha!]

Jesse noticed that he was getting a bit more… tactile. Apparently he hugged Genji enough to have Genji’s scent blockers on his clothes and skin enough for Lena or Lucio to comment on. Jesse also found himself not wearing his glove a lot, something that was supposed to protect his hand from Peacekeeper if she bucked or jumped around a little too much in his grip, now left unless Jesse felt like he was going to need his gun. Ruffling Lena’s hair, clamping Lucio’s hand, even put his hand on Soldier 76’s shoulder when he was trying to calm down a minor argument between him and Genji.

For years Jesse had avoided getting too close or touching people because of scents and how easy it was for someone’s scent to get someone or Jesse hurt by the hunters on his ass. Not to mention, Jesse always felt like he was one of those touch starved people, tactile by nature and not just his non-human nature, enjoying gentle contact with other people. Jesse supposed that when he started ignoring his non-human nature that that part of himself went quiet with everything else and now? Now that base chemistry was humming and everything was thrown out the window? Jesse felt touched starved hard enough for it to ache some days.

[HANZO: They feel like any normal tattoos, I suppose. You can feel the magic in them though, so sometimes it shocks people. Or more accurately it feels like a shock.]  
[HANZO: I truthfully much prefer my hair being stroked.]  
[ME: same, beard scratches are the best~]  
[ME: i usually keep my nails too short to scratch it right, doesn’t help that its thick]  
[HANZO: I keep my talons sharp and long at all times. Never know when a use, no matter or small, might appear for them.]  
[ME: :eyes:]

Jesse just… really hoped that nothing got too deep too fast because of his poor fucked over biology.

* * *

“Can I see your phone?”

Hanzo slid his phone over to his aunt, working on trying to balancing some of the pack’s accounts and realizing that there seemed to be quite the amount of either horrendously mishandled money or someone was stealing. Either way, Hanzo was ready to kill and really did not want to lash out at his aunt and just forfeited his phone.

“May I look at your text messages?”

Hanzo grunted in approval, looking over the mismatched numbers again and again as though it would reveal who was stealing from the pack’s pockets. Someone that was going to be turned into a pelt and then a welcoming mat to hold his guests dirty boots, that was who!

“You have been speaking at length with McCree-san,” Rin noted, scrolling through his texting history.

“Yes, he’s a pleasant distraction.”

“... pleasant enough to perhaps take a break from this and do another interview?” Rin gently suggested.

Hanzo spared her a glance. There was genuine concern in her mind and perhaps his aura was flexing a bit with his mounting anger. That was never good to inflict upon people, especially someone that he cared so much about like his aunt. Taking a moment, Hanzo took some deep calming breaths while pushing the papers away from him, letting his mind focus on other things.

“Yes, I would like that,” Hanzo sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Rin just smiled softly, “I am glad that you like McCree-san, pack head. Even if he does not work out as a marriage candidate, I think he will make a good friend to you.”

Hanzo hummed non-committedly. Through his speaking with the man over texts, Hanzo did find that he enjoyed the man’s company and the man himself on a personal level. But Hanzo had never been good with his own emotions, too many years of having them twisted and forced to take certain shapes for him to really comprehend what they were made of. Wither Hanzo liked McCree as a person, wanted to have McCree as a friend or wanted McCree as a spouse was something that Hanzo would need a great deal of time to find out on his own.

“Though you are agreeing to go through with another interview,” Rin coyly smiled, “Do you wish to share anything, clan head?”

“Hush, oba-san,” Hanzo snapped with no real force or anger, “I wish to treat McCree-san to spirits made for non-humans. I would like to have this interview in a private booth at that one lounge that we bought a few weeks ago. The one made for non-humans?”

“You should know that we’ve been having trouble with that place,” Rin said, but already texting McCree regardless. “Humans get testy when you openly advertise an establishment as non-human exclusive.”

“They do realize that spirits for non-humans can and will kill… them, right? Even a few drops?” Hanzo said incredulously.

Rin shrugged.

“I never will understand humans or the way they think.”

Hanzo left his reports in his locked office, to deal with later, letting Rin go to quickly fetch McCree before making his way to the lounge. 

Said lounge was a larger flat building that had apparently been repurposed from an abandoned human nightclub. While it retained many of its nightclub charms, it now had the aesthetics of a high class exclusive lounge with some of the more lively elements of a nightclub. Hanzo had purchased it when the previous owners had fled from harassment from humans and now? Now it was thriving with extra security and Shimada legal behind it.

For a week day, it appeared to be having a slow night. The few visits that Hanzo had paid them, they had often had lines at the door of eager non-humans waiting to enjoy a stress-free moment not underneath human eyes. Now there was no line and very bored looking bouncer waiting at the door. The inside only furthered the idea of a slow night, having only a handful of non-human scents. But that was good for him, Hanzo did not feel like dealing with too many people regardless of their nature and a private booth would only help further calm him down.

His aunt came by not to long after he had gotten settled into a booth, sipping away at a bottle of something light to start the evening with. As much as Hanzo wanted to get blackout drunk, there was still business to do in the morning and hangover was never fun to deal with, especially when dealing with embezzling. Not to mention, getting drunk seemed like an unseemly thing to do before a potential marriage candidate.

“Well howdy, stranger,” McCree grinned as himself and RIn sat down. “I see you’re still tryin’ to see my ass naked in a dumpster somewhere.”

“No such thing,” Hanzo chuckled softly. “Sadly, I cannot drink as such and it would not be fair to me if you did.”

“Fair,” McCree laughed.

A sampling of various drinks were brought to them as they chatted. Hanzo found it much, much easier to do after having gotten to know McCree a bit more. They chatted lightly at first, easing their way into slightly more personal topics and such. This time, Hanzo wanted to know a bit more about McCree’s family, which McCree was happy to provide, apparently quite proud of his family and their history. When McCree asked of his own, Hanzo gave a very… edited version of it. Long history of proud wolves, father died to a disease of the brain, a deceased brother. Apparently McCree caught on to the touchy-ness of the subject and moved on from it, something that Hanzo was grateful for.

“This stuff ain’t half bad,” McCree hummed after tasting yet another drink. “I prefer bourbon myself, something with a bit more bit to it.”

“Such unsophisticated taste,” Hanzo said, smirking when McCree looked mock offended before they both broke down into chuckles. Another thing to rib the other about.

Despite Hanzo’s insistence on not getting drunk, they did end up tipsy. Nothing to hinder their thoughts or choices, but enough to loosen their lips and making it easier for them to laugh. Hanzo liked when McCree laughed and smiled, the man’s face lit up and he had such a handsome smile, the way his skin flushed and made him just seem that much warmer. McCree told Hanzo something along the same lines, saying that a smile suited him and hoped to see him smile more. That made Hanzo flush before chuckling at him.

“You’re a funny man, Shimada,” McCree chuckled.

“I am not such a stickler that I am made out to be,” Hanzo laughed.

“Just a little,” Rin smirked.

McCree wheezed with laughter while Hanzo pouted at his aunt.

They talked a good few hours, keeping their buzz before Hanzo stomach decided to ruin it. Pain and sourness made Hanzo want to vomit and curl into a ball of pain and misery. These constant stomach troubles were getting worrying, Hanzo pondering seeing Yuu when they got back while they neatly wrapped up their interview so Hanzo could go and see why his stomach was hurting him _this_ time. Hanzo hoped that Yuu had something other than ‘stress’ and ‘poor diet’ and ‘more psychological than physical’.

“Go get your rest,” McCree smiled.

“Very well,” Hanzo gruffed playfully before offering McCree a smile like he knew the man liked. “I look forward to seeing you again, McCree-san.”

“My oh my, does this mean that you like lil’ ol’ me, Mr. Shimada?” McCree grinned.

“Yes, don’t be smug and change that,” Hanzo teased.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Would you like to start home while I make sure McCree-san gets to the hotel safety?” Rin asked.

“Not drunk, can walk a straight line. It’d be the only straight thing I can do right,” McCree laughed.

“I completely trust your ability to get there safely, but I worry and fret and it would be more for my nerves,” Rin chuckled.

“Oh fine,” McCree smiled. “You rest up real good, Mr. Shimada. Man like you shouldn’t suffer.”

That… struck a chord. A heavy chord. Hanzo sucked down a breath and resisted the scathing comment against his own person and how, no, he was the exact kind of man that deserved to suffer. But McCree was smiling like he meant it and Hanzo’s chest hurt like he had been struck. So Hanzo just muttered a quiet goodbye before leaving Rin to escort McCree home.

When Hanzo got home, to that cursed fucking place that he hated so fucking much, he went to Yuu who was thankfully still up.

“You’re stomach is still bothering you?” Yuu asked after Hanzo had run through the list of symptoms.

“Yes, very much so.”

“Don’t tell anyone besides me, that-- that human Moira is still here,” Yuu grumbled, scratching at his scarred chin. “Lay down, let’s get a scan of your abdomen. I’ll check on the state of your organs. I really, really hope that it’s not rotting like the previous pack head’s. Moira will have a fucking field day, sadistic… scientist.”

Hanzo laid out on Yuu’s table, letting the man tinker with the machine for a moment before the arch that would scan him unfolded from the sides of the bed and made the arch that would move up and down his abdomen to try and find the cause of his problem.

“How was the interview?” Yuu asked.

“Don’t start,” Hanzo deadpanned.

“It’s rare for you to voluntarily talk with people, let alone go on _two_ marriage interviews,” Yuu snarked. “Pardon me to know if I need to gear up for specialized treatment for the pack head’s honored mate.”

“Hush,” Hanzo snipped.

“I’m right and you know it,” Yuu laughed.

“You and Rin, you say that I need to watch my stress and then pester me over these things,” Hanzo groaned.

“We pester because we worry and love you, pack head,” Yuu smirked right back. “Now… who is this mystery man?”

With a defeated sigh, Hanzo told Yuu a bit about McCree. Some shallow surface details, a few things about his person, and _yes_ Hanzo liked him and was going to go on another interview with him. But Hanzo was unsure if he liked McCree as a friend or as a potential lover. And no, Hanzo was not going to give Yuu ‘the dirty details’.

“I’m a doctor, I thrive on dirty details,” Yuu laughed.

“How about you tell me the details about my stomach instead?”

Yuu grumbled before looking over the details of the scan sent to his computer. After a moment of humming and muttering, Yuu turned to Hanzo.

“It looks like some mild agitation. I would suggest cutting down on the antacids and laying off the alcohols for a bit,” Yuu said, “Thankfully nothing appears deeply troubling at the moment. We might want to check your diet to try and help out as well. We need to try and get you to have a stress relieving hobby.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Hanzo grumbled.

“... You know, I realize that it’s an awful stereotype, but I heard cowboys are hung-”

“SILENCE!”

* * *

[HANZO: I am so sorry about last night.]  
[ME: aint hurt none, dont even got to apologize]  
[HANZO: Still…]  
[ME: dont beat yourslef up non hun]  
[HANZO: Still, it was rude to end it so quickly.]  
[ME: yer health is more important dont you worry none]  
[HANZO: What does ‘hun’ mean?]  
[ME: uh… sorry its short for ‘honey’, sort of a southern thing]  
[ME: want me to stop that?]  
[HANZO: … No, I do not mind.]  
[ME: youve unleashed the beast hun, us southern folk like our sweet as pie nicknames]  
[HANZO: Oh?]  
[ME: oh sugar pie, hun, pumpkin, darlin]  
[ME you aint heard nuthin yet]

McCree smirked at the phone screen as Hanzo blustered underneath the bombardment. McCree did love when he could surprise someone with his sugary nicknames. Genji and Lena were numb to it, especially to ‘hun’ and ‘darlin’, so this was nice. McCree smiled when Hanzo blustered extra with ‘angel’ and McCree resolved to use that more.

“Oh my god, you’re flirting with my brother,” Genji gasped.

“Am not, just flusterin’ him is all,” McCree shot back, nudging Genji off his back. Again McCree realized that he was being overly tactile if he had let Genji pretty much flop on his back and hardly cared enough to notice.

“Oh, your nicknames,” Genji snickered. “I can’t get over the first time you called me ‘hun’.”

“You thought I was comin’ onto you and tried to stab me,” McCree chuckled.

“To be fair, I was a prickly asshole.”

“I still remember the first time you called me hun,” Lena grinned from her spot at the table as she worked on Genji’s mask. A blank faced, porcelain like mask that she was currently chipping away a character into. Something that Genji was going to wear because they could only get Genji and Soldier 76 into Shimada security. “I felt so special and loved.”

“Yeah, I did too, but the whole thing had to be explained first,” Genji said, “And I had to calm down a bit. You still can’t call me ‘darling’ that’s just too much bro.”

McCree nudged him again.

“Okay, _sweetheart_ ,” McCree grinned, his grin only growing when Genji gave him a nuggie in revenge. “How’s your mission goin’?”

“Great actually, we got in as extra security personnel. Generic right now but it’s a foot in the door. They want 76 doing… what was it?” Genji asked the sullen man currently tucked up in the corner, taking apart a worrying large rifle of some sorts.

“Personal bodyguard,” 76 growled out, or maybe his voice was just that rough, before slamming a part back into his rifle. “They’re to tell me who in a few weeks. Something about potentially bringing in someone.”

“Oh my god it’s Jess,” Genji perked up.

“Oh hush you.”

Soldier 76 just grunted, whatever he was feeling about the possibility unknown since he was still wearing his mask and visor and he just went back to slamming his rifle back together with a lot more force than necessary. Maybe he was pissed… Maybe not, in the short time that McCree had known what little he had known about the man, it was obvious that Soldier 76 was a crabby, prickly, anti-social and just generally an asshole that cared little for the lives around him. Not to mention those musty ass scent blockers, laid on thick enough that McCree needed a window open if they were in the same room with one another, else it gave him wicked bad headaches and stomach aches.

[HANZO: Do not call me angel.]  
[ME: sure thing sweet bumblebee, honey pie]  
[HANZO: You are]  
[HANZO: Ridiculous.]  
[ME: and you like me, so that says a lot more about you than me, angel]  
[HANZO: BAH!]  
[HANZO: First Rin, Atsuko is saying such things, now Yuu.]  
[ME: love is in the air sweetness ;) ]  
[HANZO: Don’t push it.]  
[ME: hold on yer aunt is pokin me bout somethin]

“Anyway, I should be doing patrols mostly, they’re going to hire me in, in a few days,” Genji said as McCree fiddled with his phone, “I’m going to go as a spirit that’s taken on a corporal form because of the mask, so I have an excuse to always wear it. I realize that I’m probably not in any immediate danger if my identity gets out there, but I’d rather not risk it.”

“Don’t forget to paint your nails, wouldn’t want them to ask why a spirit forced into flesh has metal nails,” McCree said.

“Oh shit that’s a good idea, yeah, uh… Lu, you got any nail polish I can steal?”

“Not on me, I don’t take that on missions because ‘ _It’s frowned upon_ ’.”

[RIN: Click this]  
[ME: allriiiiiggghhhtt]  
[RIN: Why would I send you something questionable on something I bought for you?]  
[ME: right]

[You’ve been invited to join the ‘Not all Old Assholes’ group chat, do you accept? Y/N]  
[Y]  
[You are not part of ‘Not all Old Assholes’ group chat]

[ME: that is a name y’all]  
[ATSUKO: A running joke ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯]  
[RIN: Good evening McCree-san! =D ]  
[YUU: Pardon me while I delete a few things from the past few days]  
[ME: ???]  
[RIN: Ah, McCree-san, allow me to introduce you to a few people that you may meet in the future! :D ]  
[RIN: @Atsuko is my wife, she also tends to pack business outside of Japan and is often gone saldy ;n; ]  
[ATSUKO: Charmed]  
[RIN: @Yuu is the family physician]  
[ATSUKO: Also interested in cowboys, horses, Americans and werewolves as of late because of you.]  
[YUU: Only slightly]  
[RIN: They’re not really active because they’re shy but @Akira is Yuu’s spouse and also currently trying to take some of the human relations work for us. They’re such a sweetheart <3 ]  
[AKIRA: Good evening, McCree-san]  
[ME: well howdy y’all]  
[ATSUKO: So how’d you do it? You’d you of all the people on this little rock break my cherished nephew’s hardass crust?]  
[ME: you know, not quite sure of that myself]  
[RIN: Because McCree-san is a gentleman and a genuinely kind and warm hearted man~]  
[ME: high praise ma’am]  
[RIN: <3 ]

“Having fun?” Genji teased McCree.

“Uh… sorry, this in poor taste?” McCree asked with a grimace.

“Bro I’m fine, I told you, I’ve healed from what my family did to me, and to be honest? It was mostly my father and those old as shit old wolves,” Genji said, playfully popping McCree’s shoulder. “I have a feeling you’re talking to my aunts… Maybe Yuu?”

“Good guess… anythin’ you can tell me about these people?”

“Rin is a real sweetheart but will break you in half if you hit her buttons. Aunt Atsuko is our blood aunt and let me tell you, do not. Fuck. With. Her. You’re bound to hear horror stories about how strong my father was, Atsuko is living and more than twice as powerful as he ever was. She should have lead the clan when grandfather stepped down, but he was more than a bit of a misogynistic asswipe that way. Yuu is… think Angie only cusses a hell of a lot more and just slightly less willing to stab someone.”

“Fun folks.”

[HANZO: What did my aunt want?]  
[ME: invited me to some group chat with yer other aunt, yuu and his s/o]  
[HANZO: Ah… I have that one muted.]  
[HANZO: I hope this will not detract from our time speaking.]  
[ME: ah you like talkin wit me ;) ]  
[HANZO: Yes.]  
[ME: like you too angel]  
[HANZO: Hurmph.]

“Man… it’s going to be weird going back,” Genji noted as he looked over Lena’s progress. “I’ll be a different person, in more ways than one, but seeing people that probably haven’t changed a day since I left.”

“Are you going to make it, Genji?” McCree asked softly.

“Yeah, it’s just… going to be weird,” Genji shrugged. “I wouldn’t volunteer for this if I didn’t think I could handle it, Jess. Promise.”

“Hey all, we have a mission update coming in,” Lucio said, comm device pressed against his ear.

Lucio put his comm on speaker, setting it on the table.

“Ah, can everyone hear me?” A rough but friendly voice said.

“Yep, hi Winston!” Lena said to the device.

“Hello everyone. Is Jesse McCree there?”

“...Yeah, howdy there. You must be that yeti everyone’s been tellin’ me about,” McCree drawled out, leery. Genji had told him how Winston was verbally disappointed that McCree was not willing to help them. McCree figured that he was about to get another spiel about joining the mission.

“While you are in a prime position to help us, I cannot force you. All I can ask is that you don’t actively sabotage our mission while we’re here.”

Well that was a relief.

“I’ll try not too,” McCree muttered.

“All I can ask for at this point. Now, with the mission moving forward I am going to switch up the team a bit. Lena and Lucio? I am going to recall you and put you two on standby for outside help for this mission. In their stead I am going to send Master Zenyatta for support and Reinhardt for tanking purposes, in case of a fight.”

“My sunshine is coming?!” Genji gasped.

“... yes, but for support purposes, Genji.”

“That ol’ giant is kicking around still?” McCree whistled, “Would have thunk that he would have retired by now.”

“One day his mind will catch up with his body,” Winston grumbled. “But his shield, strength and armor will be useful in the event that the team needs to make a quick get away. And Master Zenyatta is skilled with on the move support as well as being a calm person under fire. Lena and Lucio, you will be moved out in the next few days. Master Zenyatta should be there tomorrow, he was… eager and started on his own.”

“Woot! I get to kiss my husband tomorrow!” Genji grinned.

“...Anyway, we’re moving forward with the mission. Keep up the progress and do what we are here to do. Cut the funding to these violent organizations and stop the person doing so and make sure that they won’t or can’t do it again. People would watch this world this world burn for sake of old wars, let’s not give them the satisfaction of those flames.”

“Ahh,” Lena groaned as the call ended. “I wanted to hang out with Jesse some more.”

“Well if he get hitched with my brother and then we can settle this business, Shimada grounds might be prime and ready for some social visits,” Genji said, patting Lena’s shoulder. “I mean… I’d like to make it so I can come back, especially if my brother is… accepting to me being alive. I would kill to see Rin and Atsuko again after all these years.”

“Well, that’s all ‘ifs’ at this point,” McCree pointed.

“Ifs, but I can have hope. Sometimes, hope is all one can have.”

* * *

It was long over do and since Jesse was keen on keeping his hide, Jesse figured that it was best to do over the phone. So with a quick text to Rin to make sure it was okay, Jesse dialed up his ma back home. If he had the hours right, it would be about later in the day for Mama McCree. She would be home from the auto-shop if there was nothing big going on for her of if Lettie did not have any college stuff going on. Thankfully after a few rings, Mama McCree’s voice rang in clear.

“ _¿Hola?_ ”

“Hey ma,” Jesse said. He was leaning just inside the single window in the hotel, letting smoke trail from his lit cigarette and mouth as he puffed.

“ _Mi hijo! It’s been too long, you gotta call me more,_ ” Mama McCree chuckled fondly over the line. “ _You safe at the moment?_ ”

“Yeah, I know better to call you durin’ a fire fight or somethin’,” McCree chuckled, “Once was enough to be chewed out over that.”

“ _That’s good, I worry over you, Jesse. Are you heading home soon or…?_ ”

“Maybe, right now I’m doin’ somethin’ that… well to be honest you’re goin’ to kill me over,” McCree grumbled.

“... _Jesse James McCree, start talking now._ ”

“It’s not bad, I promise… might be kinda good for me if it happens,” McCree said, scratching his beard. “Just… if it happens I’m gonna call you back and tell you and I really want you to promise that you’re not gonna kill me.”

“... _I hate when you do this to me, Jesse… Fine! I promise not to make you into a wolf skin rug. But… you promise that you’re not in no trouble? You’re not doing something stupid to get the heat off of you or nothing?_ ”

“No… I’m doin’ this of my own volition and everythin’ just… it’s weird and you’ll be more annoyed than anythin’ and it’ll really need to be explained well is all. Hopefully I can come out and see you to explain it. I just… I’m tired ma… so fuckin’ tired…” Jesse extinguished his cigarette so that he could comb his hair, fighting back that nasty burning sensation that foretold tears. If he cried, come hell or high water, his ma would come storming across the world for him and the thought made it harder to hold them back.

“ _Jesse…_ ”

“Been ignorin’ shit for too long and I finally got a half second to let it process and its crashin’ down ‘round my ears and… I’m tired ma…”

“ _Jesse, kiddo… please talk to me…_ ”

“Might be joinin’ a pack soon… for good. Might be… gods do I want too…”

“ _That’s good, mi hijo. But… don’t hurt yourself. Blackwatch fucked you up good and I don’t want you hurting yourself trying to put a shitty salve on old hurts._ ”

“Yeah well… it’s all what ifs are this point and I think if it does happen then it really will help.”

“ _...Nothing else, you can come home. I heard about your bounty getting paid off so we’d only have to worry about those fucking monster hunters. Your old lady might not be as spry as she used to be, but I can still kick ass.._ ”

“Yeah, but you ain’t old ma, just refined… love ya mom, hope to talk to you again soon.”

“ _Love you too kiddo, hope to talk to you soon… Be safe mi hijo. Your ma still loves you and worries over you, even if you’re an adult now and fully capable of taking care of yourself but… I still worry._ ”

“Don’t you worry ma. If you know me, I always manage to get out of every bad place I’ve managed to land my dumbass in… Don’t worry, I’m gonna call you next chance I get.”

McCree cut the call, looking down at the screen and sighing loud and long, turning his attention to another cigarette. After a moment of puffing, McCree took his phone up again.

[ME: hey sugar, you up?]  
[HANZO: Unfortunately.]  
[HANZO: I am currently trying to deal with a number of complaints from my family.]  
[ME: those ‘old wolves’ that i hear your family mention?]  
[HANZO: Yes. Okami live _long_ lives and these wolves seem to be stuck in ages long since passed.  
[HANZO: Many are upset about our choice to include non-okami members into the family, despite my continued stressing that there simply is no long term solution for continuing our ass-backwards purist ways.]  
[ME: hope i ain’t causin you no trouble angel]  
[HANZO: Not… directly.]  
[HANZO: There have been choice words about my going to marriage interviews with a werewolf. And a few others but now there are few tongues for daring spat them.]  
[HANZO: This pack needs to change or else we will fade into non-existence and…]  
[HANZO: They are all I have.]  
[ME: i understand that sugar]  
[HANZO: ...Because you really are a kind hearted and understanding man.]  
[ME: hanzo?]  
[HANZO: ...Nothing. I like you. Will you keep talking to me as I am forced to remain at this meeting?]  
[ME: anythin for a angel like you ;) ]  
[HANZO: You are lucky that you are handsome.]  
[ME: high praise from a looker like you <3 ]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story notes!  
> 1.) My headcanons for McCree's family have carried over to this story. tdlr McCree's mother is a short Mexican woman that works in an auto shops and also a werewolf. McCree's father is a Navajo man, full time art teacher and was taught the skin-walker ways from his reformed father (McCree's grandfather). McCree has two siblings, an older brother and a much younger sister, both of whom are also werewolves.  
> 2.) Despite McCree's form coming from a slender/smaller wolf, McCree's form tends to be bulkier and larger because of his full glamour  
> 3.) Winston is a yeti, Reinhardt is a good giant, Solider 76 is non-human but what he is will be revealed later, Zenyatta is also non-human but what he is will be revealed next chapter  
> 4.) Hanzo's stomach problems are the same as before the rewrite, but won't be so rushed in finding out what's causing it and fixing it


	5. Pack Relationships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mentioned character "death", minor alcoholism (no one gets drunk but there is a buzz), mentioned fantasy bigotry, slight McCree/Hanzo, SMORCH
> 
> I couldn't resist
> 
> Rewritten chapter

“Hold still,” Genji snipped playfully at McCree, grinning when McCree huffed at him.

“A good fit is necessary for a suit such as this,” Zenyatta hummed behind him. The omnic hummed a low almost melodic sound as metal hands carefully tugged on McCree’s suit jacket to make it sit right with Genji’s adjustments.

“Can’t help gettin’ jumpy around needles,” McCree huffed as Genji worked. “Sides, I’ve been told that my scruffiness is ‘charmin’ by the very person this date is for.”

“That may be so, but you’re also going to a restaurant that is known to cater to prissy upper class people, not only that, but prissy upper class non-human people, so,” Genji said, stuffing needles between his teeth and trying to fold the fabric to sit right on McCree’s frame. “Even if for some reason Hanzo doesn’t have a stick up his ass anymore about presentation, this is more so no one bitches at you, specifically.”

“Aren’t you the sweetest, hun,” McCree drawled out sarcastically.

“He is!” Zenyatta practically chirped.

“ _My sunshine,_ ” Genji grinned.

“Alright nerds, you gonna help me or not?”

McCree’s next interview meeting was going to be held in a rather nice restaurant. Apparently Rin was more than a little desperate to get Hanzo out of the house and focused on something other than work. She often remarked to McCree that he was good for Hanzo’s health, a good friend if nothing else. McCree liked being Hanzo’s friend at least and if they were more… McCree would not say no. Definitely would not say no to waking up to Hanzo’s handsome visage every morning.

“Hmm… you actually look nice in a suit, Jess,” Genji said after they had all the pins. Now Zenyatta’s steady hands would sew everything into the place that it was supposed to be to make McCree look good.

“I clean up well.”

“You’re never going to let me forget, are you?” Genji snickered.

“I brushed my hair and put on a suit and _you didn’t recognize me._ ”

“Oh my god, shut up! _It was one time and I barely knew you at that time!_ Give me a break I was fresh in Blackwatch and didn’t know everyone yet,” Genji laughed.

“Please be still, I do not wish to accidentally prick you,” Zenyatta hummed as his steady arms worked.

“Alright, I gotta ask… how did you two meet and eventually get hitched?” McCree asked.

“Ah, well, shortly after leaving Blackwatch I wondered the world aimlessly. I was… just so conflicted about what had happened to me, with my family and Blackwatch. I was a lost soul. I eventually ran into Zen here while he was wondering himself,” Genji started.

“I saw a dark and tormented soul in need of a gentle and guiding hand,” Zenyatta continued, “It took some persistence, Genji was very reluctant to realize that he needed help and even more so to allow anyone into his life after being betrayed by so many around him. But I was a constant in his life and guided him towards the monastery that I called home. There I worked with many monks to help Genji heal his spirit, mind and heart.”

“After that, Zen and myself wondered the world, trying to do good. Eventually we found out that Overwatch was starting up again and joined with them,” Genji finished.

“I’m guessin’ that the romance started when you two were wonderin’ here and there?” McCree said.

“Yeah, we were good for each other. Zen is my sunshine, he ended my bitter winters of darkness and cold and brought forth my springs, my new beginning, my warmth, the renewal of life.”

“...Holy shit Genji that was gay and sappy as fuck.”

Zenyatta giggled as Genji just blushed. “He makes me poetic.”

“Shit man, hope to have somethin’ as good as you two have one day,” McCree smiled.

“You will man, who knows, maybe with Hanzo,” Genji grinned.

“Yeah,” McCree sighed, awkwardly adjusting when a firm and clearly slightly annoyed hand pressed against his back to make him still. Genji laughed at him and McCree promised to give the grinning man a hard noogie the second he was free from the threat of accidentally being pricked with a needle.

* * *

Hanzo thankfully pulled himself from business to attend the next marriage interview meeting that Rin had planned, when that time rolled around. The meeting was a welcome change from Moira’s cold precision picking of the potential candidates. The fights that sparked from the doctor and her bodyguard being on his family’s grounds. And generally taking a more active role in ruling his family and trying to undo some of the lingering damage from his father’s last days and his own absence.

It was becoming apparent that the corruption from his father’s time ran deep and he was always turning up evidence of bribery, unwarranted assassinations, beatings, an attempt to enter darker business practices than guns, smuggling and drugs, things that rolled his stomach and made him want to be ill. As much as Hanzo wanted to simply kill these people, it was barbaric to just kill someone with only mild evidence and at this point and he could not involve local law enforcement without incriminating himself. This was going to take care, precision and a long time of killing this corruption with bee stings. There was already two investigations to get evidence on the worst of the worst of his so called family, but even that would likely take months.

Spending an evening with his friend, the charming Jesse McCree, was just what Hanzo needed.

After dressing himself up in something formal but not overly dressy, Hanzo was surprised when Rin texted him and said that they were meeting at an exclusive non-human only restaurant. Strange, Hanzo thought that those had fallen out of favor after numerous incidents with humans, mostly humans barging in or humans throwing fits over the exclusivity. But Hanzo had been reclusive over the past number of years and had become out of touch with current events and news. But at least this would cut down on time Hanzo would need to use his full glamour. Hanzo always hated using his full glamor, not liking how weak it made him feel. Also Hanzo liked how he looked in his half glamor more, the full glamor had grey hairs in the black and Hanzo was not that old yet.

The restaurant, upon his arrival, turned out to be one of their establishments as they immediately recognized him. A formally dressed waitress ushered him into the building and through a heavy glamor curtain that would protect the clinentel from accidental human exposure before leading him to a private booth where an un-glamored Rin and dressed up Jesse were waiting. Jesse was dressed up in a classic black and white suit and his hair brushed back and beard tamed and overall look very handsome for the evening without overdoing it. Rin herself was dressed up in more formal wear like he was, something lovely without being too overly dressed, long white hair pulled up into an intricate bun with silvery decorations that chimed sweetly when her head moved.

“Good evening, Mr. McCree and Rin,” Hanzo said before taking a seat. When he looked to Jesse, he was surprised to see nothing different about him, he was cleaned up and dressed up for the evening yes, but he looked as human as he had last seen him. 

“Do werewolves not use glamors, Mr. McCree?” Hanzo asked.

“Nah, we looks human most of the time,” Jesse smiled. “We don’t got any skills for magic, sadly.”

“Interesting.”

“Well, most of us look human most of the time,” McCree continued as Hanzo adjusted in his seat and a waitress rushed to take a drink order and meal order and rushing back to the kitchens. “Some of us make the wolven form our true form and then the human form the ‘other’ form. Some make the wolven form the only form. Some are born that way and have to learn otherwise.”

“Sounds like what happens with our own kind, the ones that choose the form of the wolf over the form of a human to ‘remain pure’,” Hanzo said solemnly. “Though I imagine your form is more humanoid than wolf. From what I understand of werewolves, your transformations tend to be towards more humanoid shapes, correct?”

“Mostly, there are a few that transform into somethin’ almost exactly wolf like, but they tend to just call themselves shifters more than werewolves,” McCree explained. “There are a very rare few that transform from man, to wolf humanoid to wolf. But then again, they’re very rare and seen more of a mutation, kinda like red hair, than anythin’. When they’re born, they tend to be reclusive and prefer the lone wolf rather than a packmate, somethin’ about that extra form seems to make pack instincts loosey goosey.”

Their drinks were brought, which was good. As interesting as it always was talking about the differences between the species and even find out interesting barely known facts, like that there were some werewolves that apparently had three forms in total, but there was a goal to this meeting.

While they waited for food, they spoke, it coming naturally since they had been speaking for a time at this point. First about light hearted things, their interests and hobbies and stories, anything that they had not shared so far. McCree had a number of them from his time running, during their telling which Hanzo was starting to think that the sizable bounty that Rin had paid off was more of Jesse’s penchant for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. People had a habit of assuming the worst for pack creatures were they were by themselves and Jesse seemed to attract trouble. He also found out that Jesse liked old Western movies, unsurprisingly, actually enjoyed learning history of pretty much anyone, liked learning about the different species, and traveling all over the world and seeing new sights.

Then they moved to onto deeper things, opinions and thoughts and the like. Rin was there, as she was with these meetings, to keep things civil and keep a keen eye on interactions to gauge if they were truly a good match. But things never seemed to get heated unless they were both heated about being on the same side of the issue, like how other non-humans saw canines as ‘weak’ because of their pack instincts and how much of their happiness relied on the health and safety of their pack, how it was unfair to call a social and family oriented creature for being themselves. Also canines being incorrectly judged based on human interactions with tortured and chained canine non-humans, McCree seemed just as fiery about that as he was. Everything from politics, to art, human and non-human rights, he enjoyed a very liked minded conversation with Jesse who seemed versed in a bit of everything, perhaps more so from his extensive time traveling.

Time flew by pleasantly and they managed to get themselves into a heated discussion about projectile weaponry, jokingly teasing and prodding each other in their choice of bow versus guns, when it came to an end. A waiter came by and gently told them that they would be closing soon, but would remain open if they wished. But, not wanting hard working customer service people from their homes, Hanzo just asked for the check and told them that they would be leaving soon.

“I have greatly enjoyed myself greatly with this meeting, Mr. McCree,” Hanzo smiled brightly at the man.

“So have I,” Jesse smiled back.

“What say you, clan head, would you like to schedule another meeting?” Rin said with a rather smug smile.

“I would love that, if Mr. McCree is willing?”

“I would love to see your handsome face again, angel.”

“Then it is settled, I will schedule another here soon and inform you both of the time. It was lovely as always to see you again, McCree-san.” Rin smiled.

After McCree had been seen onto his way to where he laid his head, Hanzo himself making sure that he went through the hotel doors safely. That got Hanzo a wink and a smirk from the man to which he returned. Hanzo found that he liked McCree’s casual flirty ways more and more, the more he came to know and like McCree.

Rin traveled home with Hanzo afterwards, walking by his side, still smug all the way up until they entered his office so Hanzo could finish off lingering work for the day before resting.

“You like him,” She said simply, smugness radiating throughout her words.

“I do,” He relented with a chuckle.

“Soooo?” Rin teased.

“You would not let me ever rest if I said no to him,” He teasingly pointed out as he sat down at his desk. Not rejection, but also not an acceptance. McCree was a good friend, that much Hanzo would gladly admit. But it was still too soon for Hanzo to feel if McCree would be… _more_.

“Hmm, you think little of my undying respect for you, honored clan head,” Rin smirked, cupping her chin delicately as she looked him. “I would honor your choice if you refused him, but I would like to say that to find someone who was a better fit for you could take many years.”

“I will think about it, but I assure you, he certainly has endeared himself to me. Both physically and personality wise he certainly is attractive…”

“Respectfully, clan head, is that you admitting that you’re very interested in him?” Rin smirked.

“Respectfully, Shimada Rin, you need to keep your nose out of my potential attraction to this man,” Hanzo smirked back.

Rin did the ultimate childish thing and stuck her tongue out at him before returning to her smug smirking. “If you’re going to think about it, then we need to update McCree’s file with medical details.”

For a moment, Hanzo’s body stiffened as he recalled that Moira was still on the grounds--

“By our usual physician,” Rin quickly said, before politely standing and giving him a bow. “Yuu has mentioned several times that he would like to meet McCree-san. This would be a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.”

“Careful Rin, your distaste for the woman is showing,” Hanzo replied with a relieved sigh.

“I cannot help finding a human like her… _distasteful_ , honored clan head,” Rin said icily. “Mark my words, that woman is up to no good.”

* * *

[ME: hey handsome]  
[HANZO: Hello, McCree.]  
[ME: your aunt said she wanted to do somethin with my medical file?]  
[HANZO: Ah, yes. With this going along as well as it is, oba-san would like to have some medical details about you on file. Things like blood type and that.]  
[HANZO: Nothing invasive, I promise. Just something that if a medical emergency were to come up, we can help you.]  
[ME: that’s good, wouldn’t want my arm bein poked at er nuthin]  
[HANZO: I will not allow anyone to do so.]  
[HANZO: Would you like to come to Haramura to have it done or would you prefer I sent Yuu to you?]  
[ME: probably whatever works best for the doc?]  
[HANZO: I will ask him.]  
[HANZO: Yuu wishes you to be comfortable, he can make either work.]  
[ME: if it ain’t too much trouble send him my way then]  
[ME: anthin i should have ready fer him?]  
[HANZO: He is likely going to draw blood, you will need to eat before or afterwards. He will also likely want to know any and all serious physical ailments you may have or any medication that you take.]  
[ME: don’t have to worry about that hun, healthy as a horse ;D ]  
[HANZO: Would the expression still be a horse or would it be more adept to say something along the lines of centaur or a equestrian shifter?]  
[ME: hun i’ve known a bit of both and horse ain’t a good expression at all at a base level]  
[ME: its more ‘i take care of myself’ more than anything because if you run a horse too hard its lung bleeds]  
[HANZO: … That is disturbing.]  
[ME: i’m a cowboy baby, i know all sorts of things about the ol west and frontier]  
[HANZO: Be sure to share those with Yuu, before he gets too many soured impressions from the internet and erotic reading/watching.]  
[ME: lmao i wonder if he’s read ‘bare back riding’ that’s somethin of a cult classic]

True to Hanzo’s word, about an hour and a half later there was a knock at the door to Jesse’s hotel room. The thick smell of wolf fur, the tang of electricity and the smell of bitter medicine told Jesse that it had to be this Yuu that he had heard so much about. Though hearing about and actually seeing and speaking with were two completely different things and McCree was not expected the scarred man waiting for him on the other side of the door.

“Evening,” Yuu smiled.

Yuu looked like he had lost a fight or been in more than a few tough fights in his life. There were several shallow scars across his face, and one rougher one that cut through his eye, a dulled and milky yellow color. When Yuu came in with a rather old fashioned bag with a red cross on the front, McCree saw that his hands were marked with scars, especially across the hands.

“Howdy there. Might I say pardner, you look like you’ve seen a thing or two,” McCree said.

“Just one or two,” Yuu chuckled lightheartedly through a broad grin. “Believe it or not, I was in North America for a time, where I got most of them. Was something of a wild youth that picked a lot of fights that I ended up losing or knocked out with the other person. It’s why I don’t have a problem with you, McCre-san, I’ve had my share of ass kickings by werewolves, I know you folks are tough and worth your weight just as much as okami.”

“Mighty kind of ya,” McCree said.

“Now, some simple tests, just to fill in a few blanks spots on your file,” Yuu said as he opened his bag. “Blood, urine, claw clipping or scrapping, and a hair check simply because if I have to hear those old toothless bastards bitch at me one more time, I might kill one.”

“..They don’t…”

“They do,” Yuu grumbled.

“Not a fuckin’ flea ridden mutt, those mudlickers,” McCree grumbled.

“Trust me, I can talk about how werewolves have natural resistances against picking up bugs because of the shifts between forms. Or how werewolf blood and skin are practically toxic to fleas and ticks and their ilk and thus have learned to leave them alone but alas. Old assholes that can’t move on from the bygone era that they were born in,” Yuu sighed. “This is just to shut them the fuck up.”

“Fine,” McCree grumbled.

Yuu drew blood, tooke a urine sample, scrap some of McCree’s transformed claws and then quickly checked through his hair. McCree still felt soured that that old wolves believed that awful stereotype about werewolves. McCree knew that some people against canine non-humans spread that rumor but to hear it from other wolf like shifters felt like a kick to the gut. Suddenly this dreamy vision of joining a nice stable pack had sharp thorns that McCree did not feel like maneuvering around…

Then he thought of Hanzo and kept that stuff to himself. Would not be the first time that McCree would need to improve the opinion of himself in the eyes of people that would sooner damn him to outdated conjecture. Stupid, stupid fucking old defanged assholes.

“Hanzo said not to ask about your arm, but can I confirm that you did not lose it naturally?” Yuu asked.

“Yeah, pretty fucking unnatural,” McCree grumbled.

“Alright, this will be enough for now. Though I warn you, if you do marry in, this is going to be a bit more ‘complete’ the next time around,” Yuu said.

“You got a gentle touch and fair enough bedside manner, I’m sure I’ll make it,” McCree smirked, getting a grin back.

“I’d to hear more from you, McCree-san, you’re a good guy,” Yuu smiled, “Unfortunately I am a busy man because of assholes so it’ll have to be over text. I wish you a good evening.”

McCree saw the man off before closing the door behind him, then slumping to the floor. Man, this was turning out rather… something.

Almost immediately McCree reached for his phone and started a text to shoot Hanzo’s way before he caught himself. Been a long time since McCree had someone that he turned too for comfort, other than family of course, longer still that someone that he felt safe enough to complain about. Man… he sure was in deep than.

[ME: hey angel, yuu was just by]  
[HANZO: Ah, how was he?]  
[ME: good, good, nice fella]  
[ME: did get to hear that there are choice opinions of me though]  
[HANZO: I am sorry. It is unfair how they hold their outdated opinions and damn you before they know you.]  
[HANZO: But they are old and set in their ways like stones. As much as I try, I cannot change them.]  
[ME: not yer fault that theyre assholes pumpkin]  
[ME: just been a hot minute since ive had to deal with this shit is all, kinda surprise]  
[HANZO: Again, my apologies.]  
[ME: and again, not yer fault theyre assholes]  
[ME: its sweet that you care <3 ]  
[HANZO: I care because you are a good man and in the short time that I have known you, you have become my friend.]  
[ME: daww sugar plum <3 ]  
[HANZO: Hush now, do not ruin it.]  
[ME: :3 ]  
[HANZO: Now, Rin would like to set up another meeting.]  
[ME: always willin to go on a date with you angel]  
[HANZO: CEASE]  
[ME: did it hurt?]  
[HANZO: What?]  
[ME: when you fell from the high heavens, angel <3 ]  
[HANZO: Oh my gods.]  
[ME: you put up with this because you like it~]  
[HANZO: …]  
[HANZO: Tell no one.]  
[ME: not a word hun <3 ]

* * *

“I wondered why it smelled like wet dog,” Genji giggled as he stepped into McCree’s bathroom. 

McCree huffed loudly, bleping at Genji as he took a seat on the ground to be more eye level with the hulking werewolf stuffed inside the shower. McCree noticed that Genji had a package tucked underneath his arm, that he carefully set on the bathroom sink to keep away from any potential water spray, before reaching out to pet his big, wet head. McCree huffed against before licking Genji’s hand, making him pull it back and away while laughing.

“I can’t help it, you look so pet-able while you’re like this,” Genji giggled as he wiped the werewolf slobber from his hand. “It’s just slightly more furry than your full glamor.”

McCree lurched forward quick enough to get Genji speckled in shower water. Genji just chuckled, scrubbing his face dry on his sleeve. McCree realized that Genji was not wearing his hotel uniform and managed to rumbled out a questioning sound before cocking his head. Did not quite get it at first so McCree had to reach out with his one arm and tug on Genji’s shirt until he got it, McCree feeling just a little smug about the wet spot he left on the fabric from his paw pads.

“Oh, day off. I gave the hotel my two week notice because my family called me in for the guard position. I’m trying to get stuff ready for the move over there. They asked me to deliver this package since, again, everyone’s too terrified of the new Shimada plaything to come up and deliver it.”

McCree huffed loudly before jerking his head towards it. Genji grumbled through a grin about ‘being an errand boy’ before taking it in his lap and carefully unwrapping first the dark red paper it was covered in and then opening the box. Inside was what looked like…

“Bourbon! And those things you smoke,” Genji whistled as he pulled out one bottle of the liquor. “Shit, this is a very expensive bottle. This is probably Hanzo’s attempt at a totally-is-but-he’s-in-willful-denial-that-it-is courtship present.”

McCree cocked his head.

“Way back when, when arranged marriages and all that were a lot more common and it was a lot harder to move from place to place, it was common place to shower your betrothed in gifts to try and at least slightly endear yourself to them before the marriage could happen. It was also sometimes used to flex wealth but… I’m pretty sure it’s a courtship thing.”

Much to McCree’s horror, Genji cracked open the first bottle and took a swig of it. Genji loudly smacked his lips together until McCree caved and changed back to snatch the bottle from him and take his own drink. Damn! The good stuff alright, burned like it always did but have such a smooth burn to it, nice and smokey and with a kick that McCree’s body felt. Non-human spirits.

“Knew I could get you back,” Genji grinned, taking the bottle and taking a swig before McCree could reclaim it. “Though I will say, you got a hell of a lot hairier since I saw last.”

McCree stuck out his tongue before sucking down another swig. McCree’s liver buzzed with the non-human alcohol and he could feel a distinct warming of his belly and person. Thankfully, Genji did not try to take it back, setting the stuff on the counter and once again out of the way of the spray before turning back to him.

“So… what happened to make you brood like this?”

“What makes you think somethin’ happened?” McCree asked, taking another drink.

“You’re only ever moody when shit hits one of your very few nerves. And I’m your friend, Jess, I know when shit is bothering regardless if you show it or not. So… do you want to talk about it?” Genji offered softly.

“...Some of those old defanged assholes apparently think I’m a flea bitten mutt,” McCree muttered.

“Shit,” Genji groaned.

“Yeah… and I don’t think it bothered me too greatly but then I had a pretty bad fuckin’ mood drop and got in my own head a bit and kept going back to my first few years at Blackwatch…”

“Wait, what happened then?”

“... Apparently it got around that because I was this half dead pup fresh from Deadlock, that I was a flea ridden mutt. People treated me like a filthy street dog the first few weeks till I knocked enough sense back into their fuckin’ heads. Apparently Gabe helped too, when no one was lookin’ but still… It’s what year and I’m still dealin’ with this shit?”

“Anything I can do to help?” Genji asked.

“Not unless you know a way to get back at those old pieces of shit that think so little of me without meetin’ me?”

“I mean, you can dye your hair a fun color. That blew more than a few old blood vessels when I dyed my hair green. You could also ignore them, but they just treat you like a pup then. I would suggest sleeping around but I know you’re not that kind of guy, Jess, especially if you like my brother as much as I think you do. I mean… honestly I think you’re not nearly as much as an asshole as me so I don’t know… OH!”

“Huh?”

“Compare them to werewolves or human dogs, that will piss them off. Any chance you get, just do it. Or called them defanged assholes, they get testy when you mention how old and useless they are.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Now then, how about we get dinner with Reinhardt and Zen? We can hit a bar or two afterwards.”

“Yeah, sure, let me get dried off and dressed. Wouldn’t mind hangin’ out with the big friendly giant and your Omnic hubby.”

“Oh, he’s not an Omnic,” Genji said as he left the bathroom to give McCree some privacy as he walked naked and soaked out of the shower.

“What? He looks like one?”

“That’s just a vessel. Zen is a high tier god.”

“... _holy shit, Genji. What the everloving’ fuck?!_ ”

“Yeah, he came out after the Omnic crisis, habitting a empty Omnic. Apparently he’s one of those hidden gods that never wanted any attention on themselves so they hid. But Zen wasn’t happy because some of these guys could have really helped during the crisis didn’t, they just sat and watched the chaos. So he came down to help.”

“...Remind me to… never piss off your hubby, ‘kay G man?”

“Hah! Sure thing, Jess.”

* * *

Their next ‘date’ was at the actual Shimada house in Hanamaru.

Jesse had stayed away from that part of town, just too many non-humans and armed humans that kept the area secured for the Shimada family, not to mention it was pretty exclusive to the higher end of society. Someone like him would have stuck out like a sore thumb, especially without scent blockers like he had been going around until Mrs. Rin sent him a good bottle of the stuff. McCree of course, was still not looking forward to going by himself into a den of Okami, especially knowing that there was someone in their midsts that was trying to tear the family apparent and funneling funds to some nasty folks. Still… not the hairiest or worst situation that McCree had ever been in.

Genji had dressed him in a fashionable suit, bidding him to leave his hat and stuff back in his hotel room for the time being. Genji had also insisted on combing his hair, trimming and combing his beard and then bid him to scrub the smell of Reinhardt, himself and Zen clean off his skin but told him that he should not apply the scent blockers afterwards. As kind as Mrs. Rin was, they were sure that she would get suspicious if he smelled like a giant, the fading scent blockers of a rather familiar Okami and then the raw tang of just sheer power that lingered around Zenyatta. The Shimada family would also be judging him the moment McCree set foot onto Shimada grounds, proudly displaying his scent would be a subtle power move in his favor.

When Mrs. Rin came to fetch McCree at the designated time, she cooed over his appearance though had a few little tweaks that she did as they entered a sleek car that would drive them to the estate, adjusting a few locks of his hair and adjust his tie for him. Could not help but notice after a few moments that this was grooming behavior, a mental reassurance habit that wolves did for pack mates. Guess he was right about how he had already endeared himself to her. But the grooming also made his base instincts hum with content, always up for gentle touches from a trusted person.

Hanamura was surrounded by high walls made of a pristine white stone that he could not place, cutting it off from the rest of the world, with the heavy metallic hint coming off of them that probably spoke of hidden runes and other magic for protection. The heavy barred gates were guarded by two currently resting gargoyles that would likely guard at night and then two golems that glared darkly as the car was waved in, carved eyes almost dripping a dark red light from within. A mental note to never piss off the welcoming committee was quietly tucked away in McCree’s mind.

They drove inside until they were directed to stop, Mrs. Rin beckoning him to follow her out so that a two more guards, human armed with a powerful rifle on his back and some sort of elemental spirit, could take the car to be put away proper. With Mrs. Rin holding onto his arm, she led him further into the estate, past numerous seemingly ancient buildings that still looked fairly new despite their old designs and past Okami in everything from ancient wear to more modern clothing. Okami that seemed to catch onto his being there right quick and turned to bore hard gazes into him, looks everywhere from gentle curiosity to hard anger.

“Not in any danger, am I?” McCree muttered softly to Mrs. Rin.

“You are a guest of the Shimada home, McCree-san. If anything were to happen to you, I would personally punch out their guts and wear their pelts for a new dress,” Mes. Rin said smoothly and with a hard smile that she quickly directed to one such Okami that was glaring at McCree, sending out a short but hard punching ripple of her power towards them as well. Said Okami suddenly lost all interest in him, looking anywhere.

“Mighty kind of ya,” McCree sighed in relief.

Mrs. Rin lead him through a few courtyards before taking him into the largest building and probably where the clan head lived, almost a mansion really. The smell of Okami was thick in the air, almost choking. Part of him was on edge, those old survival instincts telling him that he was in a strange place with powerful strangers that did not take kindly to his being there. But a small part of him was meekly going ‘home? Home?’, that part that really wanted to be part of a pack, this pack, and trying to find some sort of comfort in the hostile air. McCree pushed down that little voice, trying to focus on his surroundings.

They stepped through the largest house, breezing through really, before stepping into yet another courtyard--

A quick side step nudged both him and Mrs. Rin out of the way to avoid the flung man, letting the man arc through the air and land where they had been standing. The man, an Okami without his glamor, huffed and panted as blood dripped from between his teeth, McCree noting that he was missing a few.

“Clan head?” Mrs. Rin said, letting his arm go to go to Hanzo’s side.

Said man was standing in a garden’s center, panting and huffing with his chest working away like overworked billows. Glamor gone, Hanzo’s long silvery hair was left to hang freely and one side of his robes had been left down to bare his summoning marks and glowing with built up magic that smelled like a fresh thunder strike. The whites of his eyes were a deep charcoal color and the pupils a brilliant yellow that glowed like his markings. Hanzo’s power rippled all through the courtyard and it took McCree a moment to process it and not just bow over and be sick as the heavy weight pressed down on his bones.

Despite the severity of walking on a obviously pissed and riled up Okami that smelled like he was about to blast someone off the face of the earth with some form of magic, some small voice in the back of McCree’s head guilty whispered, “ _Fuck, I’m gay._ ”.

Breathing heavy, Hanzo wiped away at his mouth as he said something to Mrs. Rin in Japanese. From his late night study sessions with Genji way back in the day, McCree caught ‘mongrel’, ‘out of this house’ and something about ‘being seen like this’ before Mrs. Rin barked out two sharp words that sounded like names. Two guards rushed into the courtyard, two spirits by their smells and armed with rifles that smelled enchanted, regarding him for a mere second before standing before Rin neatly. Mrs. Rin barked an order, something about ‘trash removal’ and beckoning to the man on the ground. They, including Mrs. Rin herself, rushed the man out, leaving Hanzo and himself alone for the moment.

“Puttin’ out more fires, Mr. Shimada?” He asked, only _slightly_ concerned that he was left with a pissed off Okami. Mostly, he was hoping that his thirst was not too obvious.

“...You can say that,” Hanzo panted hotly, pulling up the side of his robe. The markings died down, softening until they were just tattooed skin that disappeared into his sleeve. “My apologies, McCree-san, I did not mean for you to see me in such an undignified state.”

“Nah, you're good, you’re good,” McCree said as he watched Hanzo produce a hair ribbon from nowhere and tie up his hair until the length was tamed by a strip of shimmering gold. _Actually’re you’re damned fine, that’s what you are_. And damn, gold was Hanzo’s color. “Bein’ clan head and keepin’ everyone in line probably isn’t the neatest job around. If it isn’t too bold of lil’ ol me to say, you still make it a good lookin’ one though.”

Hanzo looked at him for a moment, the black fading from the whites of his eyes and his canines shortening back to an acceptable length. Then McCree saw the corners of his mouth crook up into a cute little smirk and the man let out a rough little laugh that turned into a loud boustrous roar of a laugh that had Hanzo’s eyes crinkled and mouth worked into a handsome smile.

“My, I do love your bold flirting, McCree-san,” Hanzo laughed, wiping away at one of his eyes.

“Well don’t mind if I keep on flatterin’ a handsome man like you,” Jesse smiled.

Hanzo chuckled again, face lighting up and Jesse’s heart almost stopping at the sight, before Mrs. Rin joined them again, using a cloth to rub at some blood marring the side of her neck.

“All is well?” Hanzo asked.

“Yes, he fought, the damage to him was not permanent but his pride is forever shattered,” Rin said with a casual shrug, folding cloth and tucking it in her dress and flashing a smile to the both of them. “Shall we begin, clan head?”

They headed into the courtyard where they just talked some more. McCree liked that Hanzo and him found it easy to talk about just anything or that they could lapse into comfortable silence. But he liked when they could talk about anything and be interested in what the other had to say. Not to mention, McCree liked the sound of Hanzo’s voice, could listen to it forever.

“You sing, angel?” McCree asked when the conversation lulled.

“A bit, I… haven’t in awhile,” Hanzo said with a sigh. There was more than an explanation in the heaviness of his shoulders and the darkness of his eyes.

“I’d love to hear you some day, when you’re ready,” McCree smiled.

When it came time to call it quits for the evening, Rin ended up getting pulled aside for a moment and leaving Hanzo and McCree to talk before McCree would get escorted back. They milled by the door as Rin spoke with someone a bit away, not much privacy with everyone’s super hearing, but enough that Hanzo saw the softness of Hanzo’s eyes.

“Always nice seein’ you, hun,” McCree smiled.

“Yes, I quite enjoy your company, McCree-san,” Hanzo smiled softly back.

Gods, Hanzo’s smiles melted his heart something bad. McCree was in real fucking deep if he could realize that. McCree just smiled as he felt his cheeks light up real bright with his thirsty flush as Hanzo’s smirk curled wider and more smug.

“You are… blushing,” Hanzo smiled smugly.

“Can’t help myself, you just look so good smiling like you are,” McCree grinned.

“Hmm… and you are remarkably handsome when you blush,” Hanzo almost purred back.

“Gosh darlin’, you keep that up and you’re bound to make me almost half as good lookin’ as you are,” McCree said, blushing darker.

“Mmm,” Hanzo purred, yep, definitely purred. Hanzo talon tipped hands came forward, seemingly and innocently running over McCree’s shirt as thought smoothing out some imaginary wrinkle. “McCree-san… would it be too bold of me to ask for a kiss?”

“Not at all, angel,” McCree wheezed.

So Hanzo did just that, sliding hands up from McCree’s chest and sliding up to cup the back of his neck and pulling him down the couple of inches separating them. And while it was just a peck, just simple press of lips against one another, McCree felt his heart about implode in his chest and knew that his was caught, hook line and sinker on Hanzo. Just a peck from the man fizzled out his thoughts and set his heart thumping and made everything up to his ear burn with rushing blood. When Hanzo pulled away, McCree almost leaned in for another before catching himself, settling for a dopey little grin aimed at Hanzo’s own blissed out smile as they reluctantly pulled apart.

“My thanks… for the indulgence,” Hanzo smiled. Those high and perfect cheekbones were pink.

“Oh hun, _thank you_ ,” McCree chuckled breathlessly.

Hanzo smiled sweetly, dare he say just slightly shyly, as the man smoothed out his shirt and all those imaginary wrinkles before parting away from him, just in time for Mrs. Rin to come back up to them.

“My apologies, I will see you home, though I will admit to stopping along the way and be back late,” Mrs. Rin smiled. “Is there anything you need beforehand, clan head?”

“No, no… good night, McCree-san,” Hanzo smiled, before sweeping away with just a hint of sultry smugness and leaving McCree still blushing and burning and just… wow.

“Come now, I will treat you to dinner,” Mrs. Rin smiled before taking his arm. Not two steps away she leaned into him with just the smuggest smile McCree had ever seen in his life. “I saw that, by the way.”

McCree blushed from the tip of his head to his toes.

* * *

When they got to the little place that served Rin’s favorite hell incarnate dish, she was still smug, waiting as McCree picked at his dinner and was extremely embarrassed at the fact that a man’s aunt knew that he had kissed him.

“Sorry,” McCree muttered after a bit.

“No, no! This is good,” Mrs. Rin smiled, squeezing McCree’s shoulder fondly. “Hanzo is extremely picky about who can touch him and who he touches, even simple gestures. So for him to kiss you, that is a good sign! He likes you, McCree-san, he really likes you!”

McCree just awkwardly chuckled, feeling himself blush anew.

“McCree-san, I am going to be honest. I think you and Hanzo would make an excellent match, a long lasting and good match. You work well with one another, your both understanding of one another. And quite honestly, you’re good for Hanzo and he’s good for you. I don’t know about you, but I don’t need to be convinced further.”

“Huh, really?”

“Nope, though if you need more time I will indulge. Truthfully, I have been vastly indulging the two of you because I like you as a person and I love Hanzo and wish the best for him. But in all honestly, just watching the two of you speak with one another these few times has me thoroughly convinced.”

“This… is a lot to take in, ma’am.”

“Take your time, McCree-san. There is no deadline and like I have stressed before, even now you can choose to leave and no ill repercussions could come of it. Though even if you find this not to your liking, I would love for you to remain a friend of the family.”

Gods, McCree hated how the options were making him feel safe and secure.

“I think I need a little more time… but it’s real temptin’, I’ll have ya know.”

Rin just smiled.

* * *

Genji and McCree decided to hang out in McCree’s room, just to shoot the shit and hangout. They shared a bottle of the nice bourbon that Hanzo sent over while McCree smoked and Genji ribbed him about the smell.

“What was Morrison again? I never remember,” McCree said, taking a long drag in from his smoke.

“Classified,” Genji grumbled. “Something about not being able to speak of what he was or he would be damned? I think just from that he was probably fea or some older or ancient spirit. Some of those guys aren’t allowed to say what they are or their names or they end up becoming mortal or go straight to their own personal hell.”

“He never seemed the type,” McCree said. “Those fea folks got that smell about them, that deep earthy magic smell. Not like you or Hanzo got, that sharp smell like raw electricity, but that deep smell of ancient earth, things older than man. Morrison just smelled like a shit ton of scent blockers piled on way to fuckin’ thick.”

“Huh, I keep forgetting that you can smell magic. Most werewolves can’t, they can just tell humans from non-humans.”

“Yeah, somethin’ about the magic from my pa’s side. Apparently my big brother and lil sis can smell it too, but I’ve trained it better. But yeah… Morrison never smelled like that. Scent blockers can’t hide that shit because there are few that smell it out. Morrison never smelled like magic.”

“Huh, weird. I wonder what he was, he sure laid on the scent blockers thick like he never wanted anyone to smell what he was. Maybe he was just hoping to pass as something non-human? Like those humans that want to be non-human without actually be non-human?”

“Maybe… Still. He was a good man so we shouldn’t make bad assumptions like that,” McCree said, “Even if everyone in Blackwatch and everyone in Overwatch were at each other’s throats those last few years, it doesn’t feel right to say much against him.”

“Yeah… do you think it was what they wanted? Going out together like that? All things considering…”

“Yeah, I mean… Blackwatch and Overwatch tried their damnedest to try Jack and Gabe apart but those old boys sure loved each other. Dying together at least… that was probably the closest they would have gotten to any happy ending. Thankfully they’re both buried next to each other,” McCree said, drawing in a large lungful of smoke before letting it out. “Gabe the vampire and Jack… the ever in samshell he was.”

“Yeah… oh! Did Reinhardt tell you that he found Ana recently?” Genji asked.

“Shit? That ol’ bird is still around? I thought she got her brains blown out by that sniper way back when.”

“Apparently it just took out that fancy eye of hers. But she’s still alive, been doing vigilante work apparently. According to Reinhardt, she’s looking into what caused the collapse of Blackwatch and Overwatch. Something was fishy about it.”

“Yeah, it seemed like more of a shitshow than what we saw on a day to day basis, huh?”

“Winston is giving her some funds and aid when he can. Want me to send it along to her that we know where you are and how you are?”

“Yeah, love to hear from her too if I get the chance. Nice to hear that she’s still kickin’.”

“Sure… hey McCree?”

“Yeah, pardner?”

“Are you thinking about doing it?”

“...Yeah, I really am. I like Hanzo, really like him. He seems to like me plenty too and your aunts and Yuu and his spouse seem pretty nice and I’ve always gotten by with few allies. And I really do want a stable pack… us pack creatures just weren’t meant to be lone wolves if we could help it and I think I’ve put on the act too long. It’ll be nice… have a safe place to rest my head.”

“Okay, just promise me one thing…”

“Yeah, yeah, I already said that I’d look out for Hanzo.”

“No, not that. If you do… I do not, I repeat, DO NOT, want dirty details.”

“Genji!” McCree laughed, socking the giggling man’s arm. “That’s nasty, ya perv!”

“But I’m serious! Blackwatch was all about telling everyone in earshot about hookups, and I know you weren’t one of those people, but I don’t want to hear any nastiness that goes down between you and my brother.”

“You’re so fuckin’ gross!” McCree laughed, catching Genji’s neck in a light hold and messing up his hair.

“No! I actually comb that this morning! Jess!” Genji laughed loudly as McCree just kept messing up his hair and the two friend laughed and laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter notes!
> 
> 1.) Non-human alcohols use just a little bit of magic and slightly different ingredients to give them punch enough to affect non-humans. Thus they can affect non-humans like alcohol can affect humans, though it takes more or just barely but doesn't reach the more lethal consequences that humans can face for excessive drinking.  
> 2.) Zenyatta is a 'Hidden God'. Gods that never made themselves known to anyone and thus no one knows of them. Zenyatta came to earth and inhabited a empty and unactiviated Omnic to do some good on this planet. The full extent of his powers are limited so he does not damage his vessel, but he is incredibly powerful  
> 3.) Werewolves don't technically use glamors. Their transformations come from biological shifts in their body that are more advanced reactions to danger and things like that. While they can have partial lapses into their forms like those that use glmaors that have half or full glamors, it's all biological instead of magic.  
> 4.) Hanzo and McCree have been speaking both in person and over texts for about two months by the end of this chapter  
> 5.) Ana Amari is a Set Creature in this au  
> 6.) Jack is non-human but what he is will be revealed much later


	6. Welcome to the Pack, son

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GENERAL WARNING: Flashbacks in dream sequences, mentioned eating of roadkill, emotional upheaval, implied budding McCree/Hanzo, mentioned body horror/scars
> 
> Cowboy voice: "I'm in."
> 
> Rewritten chapter

_“There’s no telling how long he’s been in this condition, his werewolf physiology makes it hard to determine.”_

_“Then doc, tell me your best educated guess.”_

_“Years, from a very young age. He’s in his early thirties right now, just barely an adult by werewolf standards, about seventeen in human years. Clearly, despite his abnormal regeneration, the young pup’s body shows chronic malnutrition, constant exertion and constant dehydration over the course of many years. He puked several times while I was trying to bandage him up and let me tell you, I can honestly say that the last thing he ate was obviously roadkill and nothing fresh. This pup… he’s had it rough, Mr. Reyes.”_

_“No shit, looks like a starved wolf you find in a shitty zoo… any long term repercussions I should worry about?”_

_“Physically? Once you get him on a steady diet, his regeneration should pick up whatever damage was done. Psychologically however, that pup is, to say the least… scarred for life. A therapist might help, if you can convince him to see one, but that boy will carry the pain of his actions for as long as he lives. That gang… they went deep into non-human territory and I wouldn’t be surprised if he saw a thing or two that was never meant to be seen by anyone. If you really want to take this pup on, Mr. Reyes, I won’t stop you, I’ll tell you what he needs physically but as for the wounds to his mind… that could take decades to even scratch.”_

_“All I need is somewhere to start, doc.”_

_Jesse waited until he could smell the vampire coming back into the room before he closed his eyes again, leaning back against the wall that he had smushed himself up against. Though Jesse was sure that he was caught, vamps had super hearing after all like he did and could probably hear his still slightly panicky heartbeat, especially when Jesse was poked hard in the shoulder. Grumbling, Jesse opened his eyes back up and lazily looked at the vampire standing over him, arms crossed over his chest and glaring down at him with steady dark brown eyes._

_“...shouldn’t you fuckers sparkle?” Jesse mumbled._

_“You’re absolutely fucking hilarious,” The vampire deadpanned. “Now, pup, you gonna get lippy with me or can I feed you yet?”_

_“Fuck off,” Jesse said, no bite, no fight, no strength._

_“Alright, starve. You wolves can suffer for a long time without starving to death,” The vampire grunted simply, shrugging almost casually. Jesse wanted to feel… anything… about the fact that this man was going to let him starve after knowing the state that he was in, but there was no fight left in Jesse. Not after Deadlock, not after that fight that he just went through, not after he had all but been forced to choose joining this shitty operation because he did not want to rot in a non-human slammer for the length of his long life._

_“Now kid… you want anything?” The vampire asked, “And there are limits, keep that in mind. But I want to help.”_

_“... I want to call my mom…”_

_“Alright, I can do that. Come on, pup.”_

_The vampire lead him away from the clinic with the cold doctor and his disney princess apprentice to some ‘communications room’. A few people looked to them as the vampire lead them over to one free panel, punching a few buttons before pulling a phone off the hook and handing it over._

_“Punch in her number.”_

_Jesse only knew the old home phone number, but he preyed and hoped and wished that it was still the same or at least lead to the same people as he punched it in. He pressed the phone to his ear and waited for the ringing to end, waiting and waiting and waiting until a familiar voice picked up._

_“Listen, you better be glad that my baby girl had me up already, else I’d--”_

_“Ma?” Jesse sobbed, hot and fat tears rolling down his cheeks in an instant._

_“...Jesse? Mi hijo? My pup?”_

_Jesse sobbed while his mother started rightfully chewing him out before breaking down into tears on her end and they just sobbed together and Jesse could not hate the vampire-- Gabriel, if the man so willingly gave him this. Though Gabriel would not know until later just how much a simple phone call meant._

* * *

Jesse woke up from that dream with tears still in his eyes and that raw feeling that he had felt that day filling his lungs and pushing more tears out. It had been… a long time since he thought about that. That memory was of the first time that he had opened up for Gabe because of weeks of cold interrogation, prodding from the doctor and being stuck in an Overwatch cell… it had been the first kind thing anyone had done for him in a long time. Gabe had proven himself, in that one kind gesture, to not be an enemy and his younger pup self had just latched on like a starved tick.

Scrubbing his eyes dry, Jesse huffed before deadweighting back in bed, wishing he had someone to to snuggle pile with. Not much he could do about that… he wondered what Hanzo was up too. It had been a rather empty week since Hanzo and Mrs. Rin were busy as fuck with pack business. Texts were nice, Hanzo even called him twice when he had five minutes, but it would have been nicer to be around the man himself.

[ME: mornin’ handsome]  
[ME: you sleep alright?]

Hanzo did not respond right away, so McCree assumed that he was busy and instead went about getting up. Even after McCree had gotten showered and dressed, Hanzo had not responded, so McCree ordered breakfast, ate and brushed his teeth. Even after that, Hanzo had not responded, so Mccree went out to that little cafe and ordered himself coffee, the waitress patient with McCree’s budding and rough Japanese. But even after drinking the coffee there and then coming back to the room, Hanzo had not answered.

[ME: hey g man, you hear anythin about the shimada recently?]  
[G MAN: Not recently? Lmao bro i’m not working there yet]  
[ME: okay sorry for buggin]  
[ME: hey.... you busy today?]  
[G MAN: Not really, doing light work around the hotel and then getting my stuff ready to be moved over]  
[G MAN: What’s up dude?]  
[ME: nothin had a dream about gabe]  
[ME: fuck i miss him :< ]  
[G MAN: Me too :T ]  
[ME: it was when he let me call my ma for the first time in years]  
[ME: i don’t think that he ever knew how much that meant to me]  
[G MAN: Gabe sure did do those little things that he didn’t really realize but meant the world to us]  
[G MAN: I still remember when he told me that it was okay to be mad. He was the first to tell me that whenever else was trying to tell me how it wasnt okay and it was only pissing me off more]  
[G MAN: He also told me ‘its okay to be mad but letting you poison you is going to kill you’ but jazz hands]  
[G MAN: It helped]  
[ME: man i would do anythin to have him back]  
[G MAN: Same]

McCree’s phone buzzed again. He shot a quick ‘brb’ to Genji and answered it.

[HANZO: Apologies but I will be away for the next few hours.]  
[ME: no problem hun, text me when youre free?]  
[HANZO: I will. I would honestly rather be talking to you than doing what I am.]  
[ME: you can get all it off your chest when you’re free angel <3 ]  
[HANZO: Thank you, I will speak with you again soon.]

[Me: back, sorry bout that]  
[G MAN: np, my bro?]  
[ME: yeah, he’s apparently doing somethin unpleasent]  
[G MAN: probably a council meeting, those are the fucking worst]  
[G MAN: I remember father being beyond himself when those were over :/ ]  
[ME: please don’t make me worry about him g man >__> ]  
[G MAN: <3 ]  
[ME: lil shit ]

* * *

Hanzo very much wanted to be texting McCree right now, instead of glaring at the worst of the defanged wolves as he strutted back and forth across the room. Hideki, a cousin to his grandfather and thus a little over a mellina old, was trying to convince the gathered ‘top reigning’ members of the family that this deviation from their purist ways was going to end them. While Hanzo wanted to just strike the old bastard down, age having only rotted away whatever power that the bastard had at one point, his family tended to frown on him striking down the old wolves of their family because of their ‘intellectual’ value to the pack. Hanzo would rather they all dropped dead.

“And furthermore, what proof do we have that crossing with lesser lines does any good?” Hideki snapped.

“Oba-san,” Hanzo gruffed out.

“I have over three hundred reports of such things happening and 0 reports of it ever turning out poorly unless the people doing it had that many problems on a genetic level,” Rin said, waving a hand to the large stack of files by her folded legs.

“And proof of this pertaining to pure Okami such as ourselves?” Hideki said.

“Seventeen,” Rin said, a sharp edge of anger to her voice. Unlike Hanzo who could verbally lash out against these people, Rin unfortunately could not. “The smaller and less affluent families have cross bred because of the lack of Okami and several healthy children have been born of these unions. Anything else, honored elder?”

“This proves nothing--”

“This proves everything,” Hanzo snapped, temper thin. “There are only three families of Okami left and unless we conquer two of those, that leaves only one. Everyone else has gone feral, are already tied into the family and little room without incestous ties, or they refuse to do anything with us because my family has decided that they would rather be yakuza instead of honorable Okami.”

There was a rise and Hanzo silenced them all with a harsh snarl and a letting his aura ripple out and suddenly chill the air. Hanzo may not have been the oldest in the room but he was the most powerful, and he would not have these people trying to defend their vile crimes.

“It’s happening, without your permission or blessing,” Hanzo snapped. “If you have a problem, you can gladly drop the ‘Shimada’ name and leave.”

There was an angry silence in the room before Hanzo lazily waved for them to leave. People slowly left the room, glaring and grumbling though nothing that Hanzo could hear in fear of being struck down, leaving Hanzo alone in the room with his aunts. A heavy sigh escaped his chest as he looked to his aunts, who only gave him sympathetic looks before getting up to sit by him, leaning against him and giving him ressurring nuzzles that did wonders to cool him down.

“They’ll get used to it, my precious nephew,” Atsuko said, drawing her cigarette holder into existence and puffing away to let off her aura. “They’ll learn to fear and respect you eventually.”

“I would rather sooner rather than later,” Hanzo said, realizing that he had a moment and immediately pulled out his phone. It only took one text to start a conversation with McCree, who was apparently worried about him and glad to hear from him.

“You speak to him a lot…” Atsuko noted.

“Yes,” Hanzo said, more focused on his phone.

“Is anything coming from it?” Atsuko asked.

“...I like him… I do,” Hanzo sighed.

“Like him as a friend or… something more?” Atsuko weedled.

“My love, please,” Rin said, playfully popping her wife’s shoulder.

“I want him to be happy and if this man makes him happy I want to know,” Atsuko said innocently.

“I… like him as more…” Hanzo muttered, feeling his face flush as both his aunts gasped loudly before pressing harder against him. “But… I do not know if McCree would… with me…”

“He’s head over heels, my dear, I know this,” Rin said.

“But what if he finds out about me… and Genji…” Hanzo sighed.

It was the thing that was preventing Hanzo from falling as hard for this man as he knew his heart wanted too. Most of his family saw what he had done to Genji as a ‘necessary evil’ with some of his family rightfully hating him for what came of it instead of just killing his younger beloved brother. A filthy brother killer like him… was not worthy of attention and affection like McCree would undoubtedly offer. Someone that had first maimed his brother that ended up dying anyway… was not worthy.

“You never know until you try,” Atsuko stressed.

[JESSE: somethin wrong hun you seem distracted?]  
[ME: I am listening to my aunts…]  
[ME: They want to know…]  
[ME: About us…]  
[JESSE: oh, what bout exactly angel?]

“Mine!” Atsuko yelled, yanking his phone out of his hands and fleeing. Hanzo was up and running after her, following her out and into the hallways. Damn his aunt and her superior speed!

[ME: McCree-san, Atsuko here, I stole Hanzo’s phone :3c ]  
[JESSE: howdy ma’am, how are you today?]  
[ME: Lovely! And you’re such a charmer, as always <3 ]  
[ME: I was wondering how you felt about my nephew, clearly, honestly.]  
[JESSE: i like him just fine, he’s a good man and i really like talkin with him]  
[ME: Is there something more perhaps?]

Hanzo managed to catch up with his aunt and fought with her for a moment for his phone back.

[JESSE: would be lyin if i didn’t say that i wasn’t crushin hard]  
[JESSE: i like hanzo plenty]

“Here,” Atsuko smiled, handing the phone over and letting Hanzo look at the messages. When Hanzo managed that, his face lit up. “See, cherished nephew? He likes you.”

Hanzo grumbled about nosy aunts before turning his attention back to his phone, walking back to his office with Atsuko in tow and Rin finally catching up with them. Inside, Hanzo honed in on his phone, ignoring his smug aunts and focusing instead on speaking with McCree again. McCree thought that his flusteredness about the situation was adorable. Hanzo flushed underneath the bombardment while his aunts just giggled.

* * *

Genji, Reinhardt, Zenyatta, Soldier 76 and McCree went out for dinner to so that McCree could catch up with Reinhardt, having missed the man something something terrible over the past two decades. McCree was glad to see that not much had changed about the man, maybe a bit more silvered, but still the bubbly massive creature that McCree remembered from his Blackwatch days. Though, just like everyone, McCree could tell there were scars from what happened with Blackwatch and Overwatch and if it were mentioned anything about Gabe or Jack, the poor ol’ giant got that haunted look in his eye that McCree knew far too well.

“Yeah, those meetings were always nightmares. Those old defanged assholes are like brick walls that keep insisting on being in your path,” Genji said, mask pushed up just enough that he could shovel food into his mouth.

“Slow down there pardner, don’t want you pukin’,” Jesse snorted, reaching out to tug playfully on Genji’s exposed ear. Genji giggled, swatting away his hands but slowing down on inhaling his food for the moment. “But yeah, he was sayin’ how they were throwin’ fits about what the family’s doin’ despite, literally, no other option. Apparently they just want to magically be stuck in ol’ ways and want Hanzo to make it work and givin’ him hell that he can’t do the impossible.”

“Yep, sounds like them,” Genji hummed, chewing thoughtfully.

“Yeah, Hanzo seemed real tired after it, real pissed off too but tryin’ not to show it. Actually talked to your guys’ aunt cause she stole his phone.”

“Atsuko,” Genji smirked.

“Yep, she wanted to know how I felt about Hanzo.”

“Someone’s itching for wedding drinking,” Genji snorted. “Though you realize that if you go into this… they’re going to want to know what happened to your arm.”

“Arm?” Reinhardt asked before looking to McCree’s metal hand. “Goodness, what happened McCree? I thought your kind could grow back limbs?”

A heaviness settled on his chest as McCree looked at his metal fingers. God, how many years had it been since his arm was gone? Almost fifteen years? Shit, McCree still hated thinking about losing the damned thing. Of being in that dingy little shack for months, that rusty axe being sharpened over and over again, rough metal being ground against the sharpening belt again and again until the metal wore thin. Just from sharpening the edge dulled on his flesh, blood and bone. The smell of poison thick in the air and the feeling of veins burning in his arm as it was applied again and again as the muscles tried to burn it out. _The sound of meat and bone being chopped like they were at a fucking butcher shop… over and over and over and over again..._

“Just somethin’ bad,” McCree groaned, feeling tired as his brain fought so hard to try and keep from going there. _Cannot go back there, cannot get stuck back in that dirty little shack with the sounds of his screaming and the sound of his arm being chopped off with slow strokes,_ McCree kept thinking to himself, shrugging off the heaviness of his brain weighing on his mind. One hand moved to message his bicep through his sleeve, trying to settle the sudden throbbing flesh and ghost pains. “Anyway… if they ask I’ll deal with it then.”

“Jesse,” Reinhardt said, clearly worried.

“You know me, I’ve been through shit before, I’m used to bein’ kicked and knocked around. Now, not to painfully and obviously change the subject, but how’s the mission goin’ with you four?” McCree asked.

“Good, I’m being moved to Shimada grounds in a few days. Zenyatta is going to move a hotel closer to the grounds about the same time with Reinhardt. 76 still doesn’t know who he’s supposed to be protecting but things are moving along, finally,” Genji said.

“Wish I could help you, but I can’t do black ops shit anymore,” McCree said.

“Nah, you’re cool bro. We can do this without you,” Genji said, “I’ve done black ops before and 76…”

Soldier 76, who was wearing sunglasses and a surgical mask, just grunted in confirmation. McCree tried not to stare at the peak end of a scar that cut up about half way through his forehead or the slivers of what looked like pretty nasty burn scars at his temples and across his ears. 76 was either a non-human that was dragged through hell or a poor human that had done the same. Still, probably explained some of the man’s gruffness.

“Exactly! You just do you… or Hanzo in this case.”

“ _Genji_ ,” McCree wheezed.

“I feel nasty making the joke, I’m so sorry,” Genji wheezed back. “Anyway, you do good by you and just don’t actively try and screw this over for us, yeah? Plain and simple we just need to cut the funding and at the worst, take out whoever is doing it but I’m sure that they won’t be missed.”

“I think I can manage that,” McCree chuckled.

“Speaking of, when’s your next date?” Genji asked.

“Not sure, Hanzo’s pretty busy with gettin’ yelled at by the old assholes and then afterwards he doesn’t want to talk to no one.”

“Well… if I remember what I do about these things from the few meetings that I was forced to endure, they try not to drag on too long. Though oba-san is doing them quite differently…”

McCree pondered that as Reinhardt suddenly picked up the social slack and started fawning over Ana, not that anyone was surprised other than the fact that he held it in so long.

* * *

_McCree sat next to Reyes, his boss and a fucking vampire and who would have thunk that, picking away at some shitty military rations._

_“Doc’s orders, you need to put on weight, McCree,” Reyes said, sucking on a blood bag with a straw poked through it. It almost seemed how comical, how normal it was for Reyes to be sucking on one of his blood bags. Any other vampire that McCree knew preferred the ones with heartbeats, hated the bags of cold and donated blood. “So suck it up. Far as I can tell, that shit stops tasting like much anything after a few months.”_

_“You eat it then,” McCree muttered, trying to use his fork to cut through something that looked like a block of something, failing._

_“Unless you want to watch me puke,” Reyes shrugged. “Vampires can’t digest human food.”_

_“I don’t think anyone can digest this shit,” McCree grumbled._

_“Not like I can send you out hunting,” Reyes sighed._

_“I wasn’t one of them…” McCree paused to grumble, remembering his temper. Reyes gave as good as he got and being a big werewolf meant shit against an old vampire, so there was no bullying that could be done on McCree’s part by just growling like back in Deadlock. “I wasn’t one of them kind of weres, boss.”_

_“You had eaten roadkill when we found you,” Reyes said simply._

_“That’s--! Don’t bring that shit up!” McCree snapped, temper forgotten, bringing his fists down on the tables hard enough to leave dents in the reinforced metal. “I was desperate, food was thin and the wolf gets ideas when it’s half starved to death!”_

_“Alright, sorry for bringing it up.”_

_“I--! ... wait what?”_

_“Sorry, you have have heard the word before, haven’t you?” Reyes asked, looking genuinely concerned for a moment._

_“...Yeah, don’t make me sound dumb,” McCree snapped._

_“Not, just worried what hell hole Deadlock was if you’re genuinely surprised to hear someone say ‘sorry’,” Reyes shrugged. “‘Sides that, I do want to help kid and honestly I know jack shit about werewolves-- er. I know a little, but what I know is unreliable as shit now, so…”_

_“Yeah yeah… glad you remembered to stop callin’ me ‘pup’,” McCree gruffed._

_“See, baby steps… starting with dinner. You eat most of that and I just might sneak you off base for something that tastes decent later tonight.”_

_“...Sounds like a plan, boss.”_

* * *

Jesse snorted awake, listening to his phone buzz away on the bed stand for a moment, too stunned by the vividness of the memory to even think about grabbing the call before the phone went dead quiet. Jesse almost hoped for a moment that whoever it was, was going to let the matter dropped but the phone buzzed again and Jesse realized that there were only two people that called him before scrambling to grab it and answer it without looking at the caller id.

“H-howdy,” Jesse rasped out, not realized how parched his throat was. Jesus he sounded awful.

“ _Jesse?_ ” Hanzo’s worried voice filtered over the speaker, snapping Jesse away and trying to clear the crude from his throat with several harsh coughs.

“Sorry angel, didn’t mean… shit,” Jesse cursed softly, realizing that his voice did not sound awful just because of a dry throat, but a look down at his flesh arm and seeing his talons fully extended and a lot more hair on the otherwise hairy arm made him realize that he had slipped between forms. Shit, what caused it?

“ _Are you well? Rin has tried to call you three times and tried to visit your hotel room. But you missed each call and did not answer the door when she rang._ ”

“I…” Jesse coughed again, unable to cut the rough rasp from his voice with all of his fangs fully extended. For some reason his biology was still convinced that whatever caused the reaction was still there and Jesse just could not force it back. What was it that had Jesse’s base biology stuck in third gear? “Sorry, intense dream, must have slept right through it all. Promise I’m fine just… freaked right the hell out.”

“ _Do you want someone to come over?_ ”

“I’m fine, just… just need five minutes to calm down. Will… you keep talkin’ to me, angel?”

“ _I… of course, though I know not what of._ ”

“...H-have you ever known any vampires in your day, hun? I knew one way back when, worked with him for a bit but… he always seemed weird, even by vampire standards.”

“ _I have done business and spoken with several, yes. But never quite deeply, I am afraid. Those vampires were also all less than a hundred, as far as I knew, which makes them little more than children in their kinds’ eyes._ ”

“Yeah, one I knew was almost five hundred years old, but I don’t think he qualified as much else other than ‘oldish’. I guess the thing about vampires is that they gotta shuffle around titles for stages every couple a hundred years because someone manages to outlive the oldest possible title. Not to mention it’s hard as fuck to keep track of them blood suckers because they can be so easily made and don’t really let off a smell and vampires are always lookin’ out for hunters so they keep hush hush.”

McCree was rambling, but he was also trying his hardest to not just break down into tears too.

“ _Yes, vampires, werewolves, ghosts and spirits seem to take the brunt of hunters’ wrath._ ”

“D-didya know that they can be revilitilized after bein’ ashed? Because they can, saw it once with that ol’ vampire I knew. They had to sneak him in on this mission, so they just… they just fuckin’ ashed him and I had to bring him back in because I could get in. Dumped a fuckin’ jar of the man into a blood bath, not a massacre but an actual tub full a blood, and out he popped good as new an hour later. Like it was nothin’. Not like he was absolutely fuckin’ dead, but like shrugging off a splinter.”

“ _Jesse…_ ”

“T-they tried doin’ that when he was ashed the last time. Nothin’. He was just fuckin’ gone and nothing could bring him back no matter how hard they tried,” McCree hiccuped, huge and fat and hot tears just flowing freely down his face. “I see that fucker take a lot and he just… was gone and I was al-a fuckin’-lone. Not because of him dyin’ but because I walked away because I was so sick of shit and when I came runnin’ back because I just couldn’t be alone… everythin’ was gone.”

“Jesse?”

“...I don’t think I can keep livin’ like this sugar, I just… I just can’t.”

“Open the door, please Jesse.”

Apparently at some point during his blubbering, Hanzo had taken it upon himself to come to Jesse’s side because when he opened it, there was the handsome angel himself (and Mrs. Rin) right there and waiting. This close and McCree’s base biology still high strung on everything that it could be, the smell of wolf and magic and warmth and… home filled his sensitive nose.

“In, in!” Rin said, pushing Hanzo into Jesse’s chest before squeezing into the room herself and closing the door. “Goodness, clan head, you know better than anyone that lapses in forms for non-humans can cause quite a stir and not to mention, _trouble_ and you almost let someone see McCree-san like that.”

“Like what?” McCree asked dumbly as Hanzo grumbled but did not move out of his space.

Rin reached into one of her many hidden pockets, pulling out her clutch and then a hand mirror out of that before showing McCree his reflection. McCree’s ears were out and locked into ‘danger/look out’ mode and the whites of his eyes had gone black with the pupils now a liquid silver color. The wild hair of his head was also extremely more fluffy and wild.

“Shit, sorry,” McCree grumbled before focusing and forcing the change back down. When he looked a lot more human that barely contained werewolf, Hanzo lead him over to the bed to sit down, awkwardly sitting next to him. Almost as if unsure of what to do, Hanzo settled for grabbing McCree’s flesh hand and holding onto it, squeezing it when Hanzo noticed the shaking.

“Are you well, McCree-san? It seems unlikely for you to be so easily perturbed by something,” Rin said soothingly, coming close and letting McCree bask in the comfortable smell and presence. Gods he was in deep if he was already trying to pack up with her.

“Sorry, bad dream about bad times,” McCree managed out. “... I realize that you’d probably already noticed, but my pack instincts got good and fucked over, years and years ago. I was doin’ shit that was good in the long run for a lot of people, so I can’t say that I wish I had never done it but… I was pack hoppin’ for a long time.”

Mrs. Rin instantly went into fret mode and the hands holding his flesh one squeezed tight. Pack hopping was horrific to think about for pack creatures like them, so naturally they immediately felt that need to protect and nurture when they had heard that he had been through it. Mrs. Rin gently sat behind Jesse and threw her arms around his neck from behind, pressing closer.

“They say the first time will get you, the second will kill you… jesus I did it twelve times. Twelves times and… I’m so tired of bein’ alone and hoppin’ packs. I’m tired…”

“Well, McCree-san…” Rin said, fluffing McCree’s hair, “There is a pack that wants you to join them. And as far as we know, it’s permanent.”

“I know… I know… I’m… scared… I’ve been...”

 _Been fucked over good._

Biology could only take so much before it broke or adapted and McCree’s biology was prone to adapting before breaking, like the rest of him. 

Seeing all that dark ancient shit that no sentient creature was ever allowed to see when McCree was a pup and already having lost one pack, keeping himself together by gritting his teeth and getting good at forgetting or ignoring shit. Packing hopping in Blackwatch after losing his Deadlock pack, McCree got good at ignoring screaming pack instincts that were getting torn to shreds in McCree’s head. Losing one last pack and getting cornered by the mad mutt remains of Deadlock, that wanted the ink on his arm, McCree’s generation adapting to just stop growing back the arm they kept chopping off. 

McCree’s adaptation to the absolute shit storm that seemed to be his life was the only reason that he had made it this far and now that things were going smooth… McCree did not know how to adapt to safe, sad as it was. Safe had not been something in his life for a long time, not something that Jesse could indulge, not something that Jesse could believe could be his.

Strange how right now, Jesse felt safe as could be between two people he had only really known for two months.

Mrs. Rin squeezed him and the two hands holding his flesh hand was more petting, stroking and exploring than holding. Jesse sighed and just basked in how safe he felt, the homely feeling of being surrounded by people he trusted and being able to just fully relax around them. No need for nerves if everyone was keeping a little bit of an ear out and willing to watch out for everyone. Jesse wanted to turn into mush, but old habits and that, choosing instead to just look sideways at Hanzo.

Hanzo was still busy idly examining his hand. After brushing gentle, calloused fingertips and gentle scraps of talons along the scars along the back of his hand, faint ones from shit that just never healed right. For a moment, Hanzo was fascinated by pressing down on the calloused pads of his fingers and watching the nails push out slightly. McCree was brought back to that conversation that he had had with Mrs. Rin, how Hanzo did not just casually touch people, too prickly and distant for that, but here Hanzo was… just so gently touching his hand.

“Well…” McCree coughed sharply and cut the gunk in his throat. “Way I see it… there’s really only one solution for me.”

“Hmm… very true,” Mrs. Rin said, McCree almost able to hear the knowing smile on her face.

“So I better take it, huh. Happily of course.”

“Of course.”

“So…?”

“I happily accept you, of course. Clan head?”

“Yes.”

Mrs. Rin actually squealed, legitimately and honestly squealed with delight while squeezing McCree tight. McCree chuckled, feeling an easy grin take him and feeling like there was just a breath of freshness in his lungs because holy shit… a pack. A real pack. And a real permanent one to boot, not one that he had to jump or was just taking for a quick fix. A home where he could be safe and happy. When he grinned sideways at Hanzo, the man just huffed and blushed but gave him a crooked handsome smile in response.

“I think you’ll like having us as a pack, McCree-san,” Mrs. Rin grinned while still squeezing him. “Just you wait!”

Yeah, McCree had a good feeling about this. A real good feeling.

* * *

To say that McCree got an instant mood high from the sudden burst of pack bonding and his base biology suddenly being fed well… that would be something of an underestimate. 

McCree was was fucking coasting on this good wave. It had been a long time since McCree had just felt this good emotionally deeply, thoroughly. So happy, so content, and _safe._ It had been a long time and McCree could not be happier about it.

“Wow, you really are just buzzing,” Genji hummed when he dropped by for a visit.

“Let me enjoy this, G man,” McCree snarked, not getting up out of bed. It still smelled faintly of Okami and he wanted to keep it for as long as he could. “What’s up, bro?”

“Present, from you future hubby,” Genji snarked, giggling when McCree flushed. Underneath his arm was a slender box, which Genji handed it off to McCree to open, first sort of hem haw and then a bit more quickly when McCree caught the smell of Okami.

Inside was a red and orange shawl that did indeed smell like Okami, mostly of Rin but a distinct smell of Hanzo that made McCree think that Hanzo directly touched it at some point, probably to get his scent on it. Inside was a note in a neat hand that said that Rin had helped Hanzo sew this (humorously noting that they did it instead of sleeping because of Hanzo’s nerves) because Rin remembered McCree’s serape and thought he might enjoy it. McCree did, taking it and smushing it against his face with glee.

“I see you’re enjoying yet another courting gift,” Genji giggled, to which McCree ignored for rubbing the soft cloth against his face. “Man, I can’t wait to see what the other gifts will do to you.”

“Wait, there’ll be more?” McCree asked, only letting the shawl drop a little so he could look at a still smug Genji.

“Yes… when are they moving you into the house?”

“This Friday, four days.” Not soon enough for McCree’s taste but there was apparently a process to follow.

“Then you should expect four presents between now and then and then something meaningful when you arrive,” Genji hummed, grinning when McCree buried his face in the shawl again. “I thought Hanzo would take the practically but still worth a lot of money route, but this is… personal, touching, so I think he’ll go more down the personal route.”

Honestly it had been years since anyone gave McCree something with any sort of meaning, jesus the last time that someone had given him a meaningful gift was… Gabe. The heavy metal buckle that he was wearing right now, Gabe had given that to him shortly after entering Blackwatch. The ol’ blood sucker’s way of trying to endear himself to McCree and show a young Jesse that he was an ally and not an enemy. The tackiness of the acronym had made McCree feel a bit better on those dark days, something to smile about as he reeled from narrowly missing a life sentence in a non-human slammer. Absently McCree slid his thumb along the smooth face of the buckle, willing away _those_ thoughts again.

The next gift was delivered by Genji yet again on the next day. This time it was something that surprised the both of them. In a simple box was what looked like a rather pretty bolo tie, until he realized that he knew the design and felt his goddamn heart melt in his chest. A Navajo arrowhead with silver and turquoise. McCree loved it and wore it with his button up shirts for lack of a better option.

Genji came by with the third present as well the day after, griping good naturedly that he was being turned into the errand boy his last week because everyone else was still too afraid of ‘the yakuza’s new playboy’. Genji just laughed hysterically at McCree’s indignant look. The third present was…

“What the everlovin’ hell, Genji?” McCree asked as he looked it over. Genji peered over his shoulder to look into the box and quickly perked up.

“Oh! A tooth!” Genji chimed. Sitting in crushed velvet was a large wolf tooth on a necklace on a long piece of woven tanned leather. In the smooth surface was carved some symbol and then filled in with gold. “Old, old Shimada tradition. Gift your soon to be with one of your transformed teeth so you can always carry them with you. That’s the Shimada crest in the surface.”

“He didn’t rip this out or nothin’?” McCree asked. When he gave the tooth a sniff, it smelled like Hanzo but not like fresh blood or cleaning agents.

“Now, this was probably a tooth that had left his mouth at one point and kept for just such an occasion,” Genji said, “Father and mother made us keep a number of teeth for just such an occasion, whether they fell out as children, were knocked out or something just plainly made them leave our mouth. Hmm… looks like an incisor. Wonder if that was the one that I punched out by accident when we were sparring years ago…”

“Genji!”

“I wish I were joking, I still feel terrible about it.”

The fourth present, McCree was braced for, but he was still floored by them.

“Summoning tokens!” Genji chimed as McCree stared at the four small and thin disks sitting in crushed velvet and in a little mahogany box. Each little and thin wooden disk was marked with yellow wolf like symbols and smelled heavily like Hanzo and the raw electric smell of magic. “One use wooden disks, just break them in half and you can summon someone else’s summoned spirit for a few moments. You can’t break them if they’re already summoned though. They’re really hard to make, almost impossible, it’s impressive that he’s had four made… or made four… he probably made them himself, though.”

“Hell, really?” He asked.

“Yeah, these are incredibly touching. When I thought he was going down the personal route I thought it would be more gifts that were touching based on you, not something that were just…. Touching in general,” Genji hummed before looking to McCree seriously. “My brother… to show this amount of care and effort is amazing.”

“You going to be okay, G man?” Jesse asked.

“Me? Yeah, I’m good. But if you hurt Hanzo in anyway, you’re losing the your other arm just as permanently as the first, cowman.”

McCree swallowed thickly.

* * *

The big move where McCree would be moved into the house was supposed to be eventless, according to Mrs. Rin. McCree was supposed to show up with his material belongings to be moved into a guest room until the ceremony and then he would be moved into Hanzo’s room. It was supposed to be nothing but a few minutes of carrying his duffle bag with him to his temporary room and then the rest of the day for paperwork and getting adjusted to his new home. 

McCree was looking forward to it, honestly. Sure he realized that there would probably only be about five people that would be okay with him right off the bat, but for a new and permanent home, McCree was willing to work on that. Nothing would never feel right without adding a bit of elbow grease to it, really work for it. But perhaps McCree had let himself think that there would not be a few… irked individuals by his being there and believed that there would be no resistance to his being there.

But when Mrs. Rin and himself drove up in one of the Shimada’s cars, there was crowd waiting for them. All Okami based on the ten or so white haired humanoids staring down at him with golden eyes and letting the aura and presence bleed into the area until it felt like a weight on McCree’s chest. Sure, it did not affect him as much as it should have because he was something of a tough bastard, but that many at once and even a tough guy like him felt like he was drowning and each breath was harder to take. 

Mrs. Rin immediately slipped out of her full glamour and into her half one and tore out of the car with a rightful fury. She bore teeth at the crowd waiting, blasting them with her own overpowering aura to give McCree some relief from the sea of aura about to make him suffocate.

“What is the meaning of this?” Mrs. Rin snarled, fangs gnashing together with a hard ‘ _clack_ ’ that revealed impressive jaw muscles, “Why are you gathered like this?”

“We want to see what was so amazing about this werewolf that he could join the family when our own choices were denied--” One snide Okami started.

“Because your choices are WEAK!” Mrs. Rin boomed, making the bones in McCree’s body rattle from the sheer force of it so close, “McCree-san is strong and he has not bribed a so called prideful Okami with human currency like your _choices_ have done with you!”

“Then prove it, show us your true form!”

Okay, the big wolves wanted to snap and bite? McCree would not back down from the challenge and if this was going to be his home from now on, he needed to put his goddamn foot down.

“Well, never was once to back down from a chance to show off,” McCree smiled as he got out of the car, letting his canines slip a little out. “If it’s alright with Mrs. Rin, I don’t like to be disrespectful like some people, manners 101 after all, even kids know that.”

The group cringed at his bringing up that they were being rude assholes. Genji had said to make sure to put his foot down, use that silver tongue of his to really earn its pay so to speak. Show the world that Jesse was not some lumbering werewolf, but also a silver tongued fox not to fuck with. Thicker skulls than he was used to beating in, but McCree was not past pulling few extra punches to crack their damned skulls open.

“Just need to do a few things first, if y’all don’t mind. Don’t got a fancy spell to save my clothes.”

Mrs. Rin worriedly looked McCree over as he took off his Stenson, his belt buckle and holster and set them aside. Then, just to fuck with them some more, McCree slowly undid the tooth necklace and set that aside with his other things making a show of it really, watching them growl and grumble various curses. With that done, McCree lifted up his metal arm and slowly rotated the metal wrist and flexed the metal fingers.

“Sorry, last thing,” McCree grinned before craning his arm back and raising his flesh hand and making a cup with his palm and fingers. They kept watching as he just grinned wide and then slammed his metal arm down, smashing the raised button at the elbow into his waiting hand. With McCree’s werewolf strength, the button that normally resisted being pressed, pressed down with a loud ‘ _crunch!_ ’ The metal arm hissed and the seams started parting, expanding, changing even as he hunched down and bore teeth as he looked at the watching Okami, form stretching and expanding and filling out with his metal arm. 

Werewolves normally took a full five minutes to transform, even speedy transformers took a full three minutes. Kind of hard to rush stretching, pulling and expanding material from their dense bodies to make their larger forms take any less time, though centuries of practise and weeding out better and better genetics had trimmed it down from the hours it once took way back when. But him? He took forty five seconds on a slow day, thirty on a good day, and today? Today was a very good day.

“Oh my,” Mrs. Rin breathed as McCree stood before the crowd, fully transformed already, the last bits of his metal arm finished clicking into place, a metal arm to match its flesh brother, metal talons slinking out from the metal tips of his new big mit.

 _Big fucker, even for a werewolf_ , Gabe had always called him, not that Gabe knew many werewolves, but he guessed Gabe had a point. While McCree was not shattering any records for anything size wise, he certainly was on the lower bigger scale for creatures like him. Topping out at seven feet and two inches and broad as hell across his shoulders and midsection with some of his gut still lingering, he was just slightly bigger than most werewolves were, but he owed that his dad’s side, the actual size record breakers with his mother shorter genes evening him out. _Just big enough_ , Gabe had described him, _Just big enough to be intimidating as fuck without being too big that you can’t do nothing, Jesse._

“Goodness,” Mrs. Rin gaped, looking McCree up and down, “I know from your records the cold facts but seeing this in person is just… awe inspiring, McCree-san. And your prosthetic works with your wolven form? This is truly amazing…”

“What is this rukus in the courtyard?”

The air went cold, as in people could see their breath cold, clouds escaping his maw. Everyone turned to see two figures standing there, regarding the crowd coldly. Hanzo stood there, proud and tall as ever, with a dark haired woman with icy cold eyes holding a long and dark blue cigarette holder between perfectly trimmed and painted talon tipped fingers. When she breathed out, it got colder still and it took Jesse a second to realize that this woman was just blanketing the area with her aura and it was leeching the warmth from the air, terrifying it into shivering submission. The anger in the air had been sucked out by the sheer presence of this woman.

“I come out here to greet my honored and cherish nephew’s soon to be husband and I find the mass of you squabbling like pups,” The woman tisked coldly, breathing smoke out from between her teeth as she regarded the group coldly. Was there nothing not bone chillingly terrifying about this woman? “I would have expected better from Shimada stock, but it appears that the honored clan head is correct in that it is failing, corrupted and rotting away like the late head’s brain. Perhaps I should enact my passed brother’s favorite method of instilling strength and obedience and beat your hides until they are pelts and wear them on my shoulders during the rain?”

The Okami scattered, using inhuman speed to get away from this woman faster. Jesus, how fucking terrifying was this woman that a group of twenty something powerful and ancient Okami would flee before one?!

“Kanai!” Mrs. Rin cheered, racing up to this woman regardless of the icy cold aura, stopping a smidgen short and laying a cute and chaste kiss on both of her cheeks. “When did you get back in town?”

“Ah, just this morning, my love,” The woman smiled fondly, eyes crinkling with joy and warmth. Oh shit, it was Atsuko, McCree felt a lot more relieved knowing that it was her, an ally. “I heard about the news of the impending marriage and decided to stop by here instead of going on yet another boring business trip. But I find myself once again saddened by the actions of our family. Squabbling pups.”

Atsuko casted a glance towards him, face neutral, blowing smoke out from between her teeth. It took him a moment but he realized that it was not cigarette smoke that she was breathing out. That kind of smoke had a heavy stench that came from the heavy chemicals from within them, this smoke however, heavily carried the smell and the tang of electricity. The cigarette holder was not lit, in fact.

“I suppose that since werewolves tend not to be able to perform basic prestigation magic that you will need a new outfit. Come, McCree-san, I wish to meet the man that shall be marrying my precious nephew and that my wife cannot stop singing praises for.”

* * *

Once McCree was dressed, Atsuko ushered them to a quiet little room that had the slight buzz in the air that told of runes in the walls. That probably meant that no one could be sneaky and peak in without physically being there, which was great considering now that McCree realized that most everyone in the goddamn grounds hated him and did not want him there. Looked like there would be no wandering around on his part, at least not until he wormed his way into a few good graces or generally improved the attitude towards him, especially if he was going to live here.

“Welcome to Hanamura, McCree-san, it is good to finally meet you in the flesh,” Atsuko smiled, “I apologize for the behavior of my fellow packmates and your less than warm welcoming behavior. It seems that without by brother’s tyrant touch that they grow willful and step out of bounds to amuse themselves or pout like spoiled brats. They ignore their clan head’s orders or do something an unsavory as reject the clan head’s mate two steps after our gates.”

“I need to be more forceful with them,” Hanzo gruffed out, looking rather displeased the choice.

“Nah, I wasn’t bothered too none,” Jesse started. Time to get to work on making this place a home, maybe he could get into the good graces of the clan if he could direct anger away and keep punishments from being doled out. “Just the pack tryin’ to figure out where I belong on the peckin’ order. They didn’t ruffle my fur none, no need to tan anyone’s hide.”

“Mm, a sense of leniency, good for a person but not a pack like ours, sadly,” Atsuko hummed.

“Oba-san,” Hanzo muttered.

“What? May I not prod to see if this man is going to make my precious nephew and honored clan head happy?” Atsuko pouted innocently, smirking when Hanzo gruffed. “A happy clan head makes for a happy pack and sometimes only certain happiness can be brought from a good spouse. As well as certain stress relievers if you two are of the sort that are inclined to enjoy them.”

They both turned red and avoided looking at each other, Hanzo fidgeting with his sleeve and McCree wishing he had something to chew on. Too old to be acting like this to be sure, but when talking about him potentially shacking up with a man as good looking and handsome as Hanzo and he could not help himself. Not sure what Hanzo was getting flustered about exactly, but it had to be good right? At least he was not outright or outwardly disgusted by him. When Hanzo dared look at him, it was a flustered look underneath those long white eyelashes of his with a rather smoldering look and McCree did, in fact, blush red than a New Mexico sunburn.

“Cute,” Atsuko smirked, making them both even more flustered. “Mmm… McCree-san, I must ask you about your werewolf lineage. My own father strictly prohibited contact with what he called the ‘lesser species’ so I admit that I do not know much about them. Are you cursed or born?”

“Born.”

“How far back does your ‘born’ lineage go?”

“Let’s see now… as far as I can recall, at least since the 15-1600’s. Mother’s side was started with the infection through bite. Father’s side started with skinwalkers.”

“Very good. Your age?”

“Eighty seven years old, ma’am. In the median age for werewolves before the forever hundreds.”

“The forever hundreds? Ah, I suppose that your plateau age for you, I had heard that old ‘born’ liengages of werewolves were developing them, much like older creatures like the Okami have. Though it is about three hundred years before our plateau age. Mmm, very good.”

“Atsuko-chan, you know all of this,” Mrs. Rin scolded gently.

“I know, light of my life, but I like hearing it myself, especially if this man is going to be family and pack soon,” Atsuko smiled, “Does it bother you, McCree-san?”

“Not at all, ma’am,” He smiled.

“Such a gentlemen!” Atsuko smiled, “Certainly more polite than our own squabbling pups. Though with our seemingly proud lineage, it comes with the lesser god territory. We’re prone to self indulgence and greed when left unchecked by a firm hand. When is the ceremony?”

“Three days, it will be a small ceremony among family,” Mrs. Rin said. “Right now we’re putting through the paperwork for the human side of it.”

“Excellent, I shall be in attendance,” Atsuko smiled, “Though I guess that means I shall take care of some business around town in the meantime. If you will excuse me, honored clan head?”

“Of course, oba-san,” Hanzo said.

“Again, it is nice to finally meet you, McCree-san,” Atsuko smiled at him. “Welcome to your new home.”

Atsuko bowed politely before giving Rin a quick kiss and then sweeping away while letting her aura leech out again, giving him a shiver as the cold brushed up against him. Rin gently brushed his shoulder to soothe him over with her slightly warmer presence. That was a woman that he wanted to keep on his good side because he had a feeling that she could obliterate him with a twitch of her manicured pinkie. Good thing she seemed to like him. Jesse made a note to keep being polite with her, she seemed to like his southern gentlemen charm.

“Since it was a lackluster welcoming,” Hanzo started almost awkwardly, “Welcome to your new home, McCree-san. I look forward to you becoming comfortable here.”

“Same here, handsome,” Jesse grinned, making Hanzo flush and smirk back at him.

“May I take McCree-san aside for a moment, clan head? We can finish up the paperwork for the human side of business, and it would free him up for more time for you later.”

“Of course. I will see you for dinner, McCree-san,” Hanzo said.

“If it’s not too forward of lil ol’ me, you can just call me Jesse, darlin’.”

Hanzo’s handsome little smirk about stopped Jesse’s heart dead, “Jesse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER NOTES!
> 
> 1.) 'Pup' changes depending on who says it. From canine shifters it's comes out as an affectionate term used from someone's senior to someone's junior and while there are people that use it in demeaning contexts, it's a common used affectionate term for canine shifters. From non canine shifters it always comes off as demeaning and looking down on someone. Reyes stopped using it when he found this out.
> 
> 2.) Reinhardt is a smaller sub species of giant and is about twelve feet tall in this au
> 
> 3.) _Was that a hint about what someone is in this au_
> 
> 4.) As of this rewritten chapter, there is no more smut though i might make a return next chapter depending on how the rewrite rolls. Also as of right now, it's up in the air about if there is going to be trans male pregnancy in this (though I certainly would like it back at some point) but if it does it will come at a more natural/organic time in the story.
> 
> -The Muse


	7. Wedding Bells and Rebellious Snuggling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada, language, suggestive dialogue/scene (they're pretending to make a jerk squeamish), minor discussions of sex (nothing graphic they just talk about if they want too/consent), mentioned possible trans male pregnancy (Hanzo mentions that he can but doesn't want too right now), and in an ironic twist Hanzo is the little shit
> 
> Wedding bells and rebellious snuggling

The paperwork was what McCree was expecting for the marriage to go official through human channels, Mrs. Rin helpfully providing English translated papers and translating what papers had not or could not be translated. As much as McCree wanted to show off what Japanese he knew, it was rusty as hell and it became apparent that knowing by mouth and ear was one thing… but reading it was a completely different thing. Instead McCree kept that bit of knowledge about himself tucked away for now and just focused on getting this damned paperwork done because he wanted to be around Hanzo… like a lot.

“Signature here and here, McCree-san,” Mrs. Rin said, pointing to two spots on two forms in Japanese. “Basically saying that you do not mind myself and my wife being your legal witnesses.”

“A’course,” He mumbled, scrawling his name again.

“Ah, I know I’ve said it already, but I love your penmanship, McCree-san, very neat and clear,” Mrs. Rin smiled as she took the latest paper away to add to the stack, smiling at the neat scrawl of his handwriting. “I wish Atsuko would work on her penmanship, it’s so curvy and loopy that she has to re-do most any official paperwork she sends in or I have to read what she wrote.”

“Dangerous woman like that, I’m sure she gets away with it,” Jesse chuckled.

“All the time,” Mrs. Rin groaned, making him laugh and making her break down and laugh in turn, taking out another form and laying it out before him, thankfully this one in English. Pulling it closer he started carefully looking through the contents.

“Oh right, I know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, McCree-san, but Shimada-sama wanted me to get your extra protection. Thankfully we had a candidate on standby that we were hoping to hire in but wanted to find the best fit for. He’s an older gentlemen, human, military and mercenary training. I believe his name was… Frank Reyes? That sounds about right. But he will be assigned to be your personal bodyguard, though more for myself and Hanzo’s sake more than anything.”

McCree nodded but then realized something. Older gentlemen… military training… was that 76? That seemed like way too much of a coincidence to be true but… it certainly would make things easier on Jesse. At the very least, McCree would not hold it against the bodyguard or nothing. Like Mrs. Rin had said, it was more for her and Hanzo’s nerves than anything, McCree willing to believe that Mrs. Rin would not think so low of him as to him not being able to protect himself. Not sure how well he could go up against gods like this, but some backup would be nice if things got ugly.

“Oh wait, I have a picture,” Mrs. Rin said, pulling out her phone from her mysterious pockets. She skimmed through the contents for a moment, finding the picture that she was looking for, and then sliding the phone over to McCree to look out.

Yeap, that was 76’s messy white hair. Looked like for the photo that 76 had not take the visor off but he had taken off the mask. McCree some head on some of the burn scars that marked 76’s skin though looked like it did not so much besides surface damage. The hardline of his mouth reminded him of Gabe’s hard frowning mouth for a hot second before he pushed the phone back to Mrs. Rin.

“Is there something wrong?” Mrs. Rin asked.

“Oh nothin’... I knew a fella that frowned like that is all,” McCree said, looking back down at the paper he was trying to finish it.

“Hmm… me too,” Mrs. Rin sighed, “But, I don’t know about you, McCree-san, but I don’t miss who it reminds me off.”

“I do… but he’s gone and there’s not much that can be done about it.”

* * *

Hanzo carried the delivered gift to McCree’s room. It was a gift from Rin’s own garden, a yucca in full blossom with a bit of magic that would keep it alive in this colder temperature and fulling blossoming year round with only a month of rest. Rin had suggested it as a welcoming to your new home present because of its origin near McCree’s birth home and because she was always telling him how plants were the best presents, of course ‘without her own botanist preference’. The plant seemed touching and after making those summoning tokens he was far too tired to put too amazing an effort into it, so he carried the plant to McCree’s temporary room and set it on the desk in there. 

The room also had a wardrobe, a thick futon, a door that lead out to one of the smaller gardens that was being quickly cleaned up at the moment. Three days McCree would be here and then the man would come to his room, if McCree chose that, but Hanzo really hoped that McCree did. While Hanzo checked the room nonchalantly, checking for quality, he also started a mental checklist of what would be needed for his personal room to accommodate Jesse. A larger futon, perhaps thicker one as well, another wardrobe or a large one for their combined clothing. The plant would be moved to their room or the garden outside his room. Hanzo would probably also want to give Jesse a secure place to put anything he wanted, a chance for privacy in this hell hole-

Catching himself, Hanzo focused on the list again. Rin said that McCree would need clothing, so himself or Rin would need to take him shopping or ask him what clothing he would like made or bought. The kitchen staff would need to be alerted to another member, especially with McCree’s werewolf diet that needed the extra calories. Jesse’s new bodyguard would also need to be fed and housed, but his room had vacant rooms on either side just for such a thing, since Hanzo had not needed any protection since he had come into his power both physically and on a magical level. Not that Hanzo did not think that Jesse could hold his own against any of his clan. His pack had honestly not seen any real combat outside getting knocked around by Moira’s guard in recent years, a sly and powerful werewolf could and would hold his own against them if something terrible happened.

Humming thoughtfully, Hanzo left the room and was going to head to his office when the smell of ammonia and death hit him like a brick. Blinking, Hanzo realized that he had been so deep in his thoughts that he had almost missed passing within arms reach of Moira.

“Ah, honored clan head, I was just looking for you,” Moira smiled, too much teeth, too threatening for his taste, but Hanzo merely reminded himself that this woman could be blown from the face at the earth at merely a twitch of his power if she were truly being insulting. “I am heading back to my main facility, there is a project that needs my attention. I wished to say congratulation on your soon to be wedding and I wish you well until I see you again.”

“Yes… my thanks, Ms. Moira,” Hanzo said, biting back the acid on his tongue. The sooner she was gone the better, especially with Jesse now here. Hanzo did not want a woman like that trying to prod at Jesse, especially with his missing arm and the trauma the man seemed to hold towards it. Not to mention, Jesse was already not given a warm welcome, no need to make him afraid or on edge in a place he hoped the man would become comfortable and call his home.

“Well wishes, clan head,” Moira smiled before giving him a little wave and leaving, making him feel immensely relieved.

Hopefully she would not be back until he could explain her presence to Jesse and even then… he hoped she stayed away.

* * *

The paperwork dragged on all the way until dinner was supposed to happen, but since it needed to be done, Mrs. Rin simply moved the two of them to Hanzo’s office. Apparently Hanzo was not yet done with the day’s work, so they were going to be all together and trying to finish off the work for the day during a ‘working dinner’ which based on the sullen tone of Mrs. Rin, Hanzo at least did a lot. McCree was just glad to be surrounded by more pack, honestly, and it was always a delight to see Hanzo’s handsome face.

While McCree was a bit nervous about eating around new people, he realized that both Mrs. Rin and Hanzo were too busy with paperwork and their own meals to really eagle-eye watch him. The fact that he got a portion that suggested they knew about werewolf calorie needs put some of his mind to ease, so he focused on the paperwork instead.

“Sign here,” Mrs. Rin said, voice slightly muffled by her chopsticks between her teeth.

“Jesus, how many more?” He grumbled goodnaturedly, signing yet another paper.

“Not many,” Mrs. Rin said, pausing to stuff some more grilled mackerel into her maw, “But the human government is very stringent on taxes and getting married affects those, they’re just trying to get as much as they can out of us.”

“Fun times,” He chuckled, handing the paper off.

“Four more,” Mrs. Rin said, putting another paper in front of him. “Then I can file all of these in the morning… we will also need to get your fitted for something nice for the ceremony, McCree-san.”

“Careful, Rin, you’ll forget your dinner at this rate,” Hanzo said, not looking away from his own work.

“Right, one thing at a time,” Mrs. Rin said, pausing to eat some more, taking the paper from McCree when it was signed and placing another one down before him. “I suppose we should make sure the new bodyguards and patrols are set up tonight. For McCree-san’s new guard, there is a room next door to the guest room that should work for the time being. I suppose that-- oh! You told me to remind you of your appointment with the Vishkar corporation next week. They are sending Ms. Vaswani again.”

“Ugh, again with the bird woman,” Hanzo grumbled.

Keeping his head down, McCree passed on another filled out form and took the next offered to her.

“The kinnaris are not that bad,” Mrs. Rin continued, “Ms. Vaswani is well behaved when placed against our other visitors and business associates. Not to mention business with the company and funding their technological advances is doing well, though I will admit the rumors about them are still less than savory.”

“They were overthrown in Brazil by a freedom fighter that later turned out to be a middle tier god, which pretty much destroyed their reputation in the country because no one dares go against any level of god, much less a mid-level god,” Hanzo gruffed out. “Not to mention they will not state themselves what happened and why, and I am leery of anyone that invokes the wrath of a god.”

Jesse took the second to last form Mrs. Rin and started to fill it out, again keeping his head low.

“Yes… and we did start doing business with them in your late father’s later years… my apologies Shimada-sama,” Mrs. Rin said.

“You’ll do just fine, darlin’,” McCree said reassuringly, finally speaking up, “Put them fires out like your so good at.”

Hanzo cracked a smile and looked a little bit more at ease, something that brought McCree a rather pronounced sense of joy of doing. Man he was already in deep and loving it already, McCree’s starved biology just loving all these happy pack fulfilled feelings that were washing away that shit that his brain had flooded his systems with just a few days ago. Like waking up from a long and much needed nap, McCree felt fresh, bouncy and just really happy.

“Last one and when you finish your dinner I’ll go steal dessert from the kitchen, they made cream pam tonight,” Mrs. Rin smiled.

“Don’t gotta tell me twice, always got room for dessert,” Jesse grinned.

When the paperwork was finished, and of course dessert eaten, Jesse was shuffled away mournfully. Mrs. Rin knew that him and Hanzo wanted to shoot the shit and chat, unfortunately Hanzo still had a lot more work to do and to keep the defanged assholes quiet, they wanted McCree far away from anything ‘deep’ in pack business. McCree huffed and pouted, but Mrs. Rin said he should go greet his new bodyguard, who had been brought in and moved into the room that he would be staying in the next few days. McCree figured that he better go see who it was, if it were 76 or not, and let the two busybodies get back to work.

McCree walked to his room, still carrying his bag of meager supplies, opening the door and throwing those in real quick before closing the door and walking to his neighbor’s. A quick knock and a rather familiar gruff voice told him to come in, confirming that it was 76. But when McCree opened the door, he was surprised to find Genji waiting in there too.

“Well howdy boys, how’s the accommodations?” He said nonchalantly, closing the door behind him.

“Rooms runed, we’re safe with the door shut,” Genji said, pointing back at the door. There was nothing that McCree could see with his untrained eye, but there was a small _ting_ of magic in the air. “Anyway, good to see you bro! 76 is your guard, just like I said.”

76 grunted.

“Talkative as always.”

“I’m set to patrol the parameter with two other patrols, so you probably won’t see me unless that changes. How’d the move go?” 

“Not so nicely,” McCree groaned. “Got confronted out the front gate, they wanted to see my ‘true form’ so I obliged. Think I won some brownie points for speed and the arm though.”

“Wait… what about your arm?” Genji asked.

“It changes with me,” McCree said before pointing to the knob on his metal elbow, “Just gotta press this with all my strength, changes to meet my form.”

“Oh cool!” Genji chimed. “But you should be good for a bit, standing up and showing off should change a few opinions of you. Just keep at it and you’ll be comfortable in no time… unless they’re being particularly nasty assholes in which case, I wish you the best.”

“Lil shit,” McCree grinned crookedly, getting a chuckle from Genji.

A sound out in the hallway alerted the three of them that someone was walking up to the door. They hushed up quick as the door opened, revealing Mrs. Rin on the other side.

“Greetings, I see that you have already met McCree-san,” Mrs. Rin smiled, giving a polite bow to the two, “My thanks for coming so quickly and in such a rush, Reyes-san.”

Wait just 76? Jesse looked around and saw that Genji was missing, probably having run off as not to get yelled at for not being where he was supposed to be.

“You duties officially start tonight since McCree-san is in the house. As you know, you are too look out for his health and wellbeing from outside and inside threats. This includes anyone from inside the family and should the darkest and least likely outcome, the clan head himself, though that should not come to pass. Understood?”

“Understood, ma’am,” 76 gruffed out.

McCree really did not want to think of any possible situations where Hanzo would try to hurt him or kill him. Thankfully base instincts were really assured that it would not come to that… unless Hanzo found out about the op but McCree hoped that anyone on the team testify that he refused the offer to join several times. Also McCree never wanted to leave.

“Since you’re both here, I should tell you both this. But Reyes-san, you are to follow McCree at any time, on family grounds and off and you are only able to be dismissed from McCree-san’s side by the man and the clan head. But McCree-san’s word supersedes the clan head’s, especially in any times of distress. You were also permitted to carry your firearms with you at all times, despite the elders trying very hard to not allow it, so it should have been delivered from out front gate security…”

76 jerked his head towards bed and the rather large rifle sitting propped up against the wall next to it.

“Excellent! If you require anything, do not hesitate to ask myself or my wife, Atsuko. I wish the two of you a goodnight and well rest. Do you need anything, McCree-san?”

“Nope, sleep tight ma’am, don’t let the bed bugs bite,” McCree grinned.

Mrs. Rin smiled before leaving, closing the door behind her. When they clicked shut, Genji quietly opened the closet, looking around before gracelessly flopping out and bouncing to his feet. McCree chuckled and popped his shoulder as 76 just grunted in whatever emotion the man was trying to convey before going over to mess with his rifle.

“You okay, G man?” McCree asked the man.

“Yeah… wish I could take to oba-san again but I know I can’t blow my cover,” Genji sighed. “But! I just keep thinking that if I catch this asshole that’s trying to tear my family apart then Winston won’t care if I blow my cover to hug the absolute shit out of my aunt. And my other aunt. And Yuu I missed that bastard. And of course my brother if he doesn’t lose his shit about me being alive.”

“So… it’s goin’ to be a hug feast when this is over?”

“If it goes over well, absolutely!”

“Well here’s to it goin’ over well then,” McCree smiled. “Break a leg out there, gents.”

* * *

The next few days, they fell into a short rhythm.

Jesse woke up early and often sought out Mrs. Rin if he could catch her. Not wanting to be a freeloader, Jesse asked what he could do to be valuable to the family and come to find out his ability to fluently speak, read and write Spanish was a skill that Mrs. Rin sorely needed for the pack’s affairs. As it turned out, they had had poor luck trying to hire people in the past that turned out not as trained as they needed and not up to par with casual speaking and slang. So McCree was set to help her out with any business that needed to be done in his native tongue. However, some of the elders really did not want McCree in some of their business and McCree was severely limited in how exactly he could help, but it was something to do translating messages, contracts and other lighter work for stocks and general business.

Jesse also tried to squeeze into Hanzo’s schedule as much as he could, just to chat him up. That meant talking to Hanzo when the man’s busy schedule allowed it, little chats usually in his office or in the hallways between his meetings. They usually chatted about their days, Hanzo groaning too him about his usually stressful days and McCree lending a kind ear to let Hanzo get it off his chest. Sometimes he would tell Hanzo about his budding translator work, something that surprised Hanzo but Hanzo was glad that McCree was not ‘rotting of boredom in the house’.

Actually, in the afternoon in the day before the ceremony, Hanzo seemed extra stressed when McCree had managed to grab him for a little chat. Tucked away in a small corridor off to the side, he had squeezed himself into Hanzo’s space and pressed up against his side, his nose in Hanzo’s soft white hair as the man groaned about someone on his council making his life difficult. Hanzo kept nuzzling up against the touch as he muttered about catching one of his council making a deal with a well known drug dealer in the area. Hanzo had broken down into nuzzling against him, grumbling underneath his breath. 

The assurance contact seemed to be doing wonders for both of their nerves but more importantly Hanzo’s, when Hanzo tilted his head way back and made Jesse’s lips graze Hanzo’s cheek. Still sort of in a blissed out snuggly mood, McCree pulled away to mutter an apology when Hanzo hooked his fingers around the back of McCree’s neck to keep him close. Something clicked in McCree’s head and he dared to brush his lips against Hanzo’s and got such a pleased little groan from the man that he kissed Hanzo proper and melted when Hanzo kissed him back just as proper. Not exaggerating, but the kiss was the best Jesse had had in years and he looked forward to doing it many times in the future and hoped to make Hanzo swoon just like he did right there and there. When Hanzo broke away, he still had that dopey little smile on his handsome face.

During those three days, Jesse hung out with Genji and 76 just for the hell of it and to try and fill that void of human- er, living contact that McCree was suddenly starving of. Genji and 76 talked about various things that they learned when they had the time. Genji was good at getting the staff member's lips flapping, compiling gossip and such until something came of it, as well as sneaking around and eavesdropping when he could. 76, in the few moments that he could leave McCree’s side, often chatted up the older staff members and such, getting anything and everything, apparently saltiness brought kinship between 76 and any other old grouch.

For the most part, McCree kept his nose out of whatever the two were doing. Plausible deniability and all that. McCree was not going to help them and promised not to out them unless Hanzo’s health, physical and mental AND emotional, was put in danger by whatever they were doing. While the big boss man Winston tried to get McCree to try and agree to not out them under any condition, McCree would not and put his fucking foot down. He had already lost two packs to bullshut miscommunication, first his family that lead to his being kicked out of the house and then his Blackwatch family when the Swiss family blew. He was not going to lose this pack, he would fight tooth and nail to keep this one and fuck anyone else. Thankfully Genji swore up and down that they could get the mission done no matter what and said that he stood by McCree’s decision, but McCree was also 90% sure that Genji wanted their cover blown so that he could speak openly with his brother and family.

Still, McCree promised to look out for Genji’s health and promised not to say anything if he thought Hanzo would react badly to the news that he was alive. McCree liked Hanzo, a lot, but Genji was like a brother to him and he would not let Hanzo lay hands on him if it came down to that.

Hopefully it never came to that.

* * *

Early on the morning of the ceremony, Mrs. Rin dragged McCree out of bed and to a room with a tight lipped seamstress that stuck to high hell of scent blockers, but based on the string that she kept coiling around her fingers, McCree made the wild assumption that she was arachnid related non-human. The seamstress measured every which way possible and a few ways that McCree had no fucking clue as to how they could help make him an outfit to get hitched in. After two hours of the spider like woman crawling all over him, she snapped something about ‘out’ and ‘work that needed to be done’. 

Mrs. Rin escorted him to another room with someone that was armed with sharpened scissors, an old fashioned straight razor and eyeing his beard like a hungry predator.

“I’m gonna put my goddamn foot down, don’t you fuckin’ dare shave my beard,” He snapped, gnashing teeth.

“We agreed,” Mrs. Rin hissed at the deadly brandisher. They exchanged heated words for a moment before Mrs. Rin just heaved a sigh, grabbed the knife and broke it between her fingers like thin glass and just gave the man a casual shrug and told him off in a brisk tone. When McCree got sat down to get his hair tressed and his beard neated up, he felt only a smidgen of fear but his scruffy was only tamed and not completely taken out, so there was that.

Hair cleaned, McCree was directed to a room with a shower and bath and told to scrub good. According to Mrs. Rin, there was supposed to be a team that would make sure that McCree scrubbed everything, but due to the nature of everything and Mrs. Rin’s hand in changing the stagnant and outdated traditions related to the pack’s marriages, it was just McCree. Though Mrs. Rin was in charge of making sure that he was clean enough for the old defanged assholes, sending him back in twice to scrub a bit harder and trim and tame his body hair a bit more. When McCree was finally clean enough, fucking finally, Mrs. Rin corrected his hair and then dabbed just a little bit of cologne on the side of his neck before ushering him on.

Cleaned up, McCree got taken back to get dressed up in the outfit they had made for him, something layered that McCree needed a hand from the seamstress to get on and make send right. Even after everything had been tied, folded or tucked in right, Mrs. Rin hummed and then adjusted everything again, making the seamstress hiss out profanities and Mrs. Rin shouting them back. Jesse took note of the dark blues, golds and white, Hanzo’s color palette if he was right. Hopefully McCree looked good enough in it for the ceremony. The complicated layers sure was hoping that he looked good for all the effort that was being put into making him look good. Not to mention, Jesse wanted to look good for Hanzo, poor man was stressed out enough without people breathing down his neck that his betrothed did not meet their expectations.

All dressed up like Sunday dinner, Mrs. Rin lead him out to one of the larger gardens on the grounds where Hanzo and a few other dressed up people were waiting.

“It is going to be very short,” Mrs. Rin whispered to him before passing him off to Hanzo, “A few lines, I do’s and then back to the house. Head up, chin out and don’t break eye contact.”

Hanzo, radiant and handsome as ever, had swept back his long tresses of white back over his shoulder and dressed up just like McCree and about so handsome that McCree’s breath was stolen away. A smile broke out on McCree’s face before he could help it, grinning like the lucky son of a gun that he was, as Hanzo took his offered arm and gently stepped out onto the little title path that lead to what looked like an okami that might have been old enough to have been around since most of the places in the world had names sitting on a raised stone platform. While McCree would have loved a hot minute to just plain fawn over Hanzo, Mrs. Rin did say that it would be over soon and that this ceremony was just for the audience, which was a large number of glamored creatures and humans standing off to the sides, over anything.

Hanzo lead them towards the platform until about a foot away before gracefully sinking to his knees. While McCree did not have the fine finesse to repeat those actions like a mirror, Jesse did manage to sink down to his knees decently enough. The old wolf watching still scowled, furrowing the many lines on his face even more until he looked more like wrinkled leather, but Jesse just kept looking on with a neutral expression, keeping contact, not backing down from the challenge. When they were both seated, the old wolf cleared his throat before starting something that Jesse could barely catch and soon realized that it was probably an ancient dialect of Japan. There went McCree chances of understanding, but he did as instructed and kept his head up and chin out and kept direct eye contact with the surly old wolf rattling on in a desert bone like voice.

Part way into the speech, something crept up on Jesse’s hand and it was not until it try to awkwardly curl around his pinkie that he realized that Hanzo was trying to grab his hand. The rest of the man’s body was stock still, head poised high and chin defiantly out, eyes narrowed in like a wolf tracking a hurt deer soon to be dinner. But his hand? Hanzo’s hand was shaking and it was only by the saving grace of their long sleeves that it was hidden. So Jesse did the right thing and shuffled his hand over enough that that shaking hand could properly grab his and squeeze it hard, to help quell the shaking. Part of him wanted to smother Hanzo in reassuring touches and care to help him, but that would come soon enough.

The old wolf ended his little speech with something that sound congratulatory, but again the dialect was fucking Jesse up something fierce, but Hanzo just dipped down into a bow at the waist. Not wanting to be rude, he mimicked it and made sure to go a few degrees lower than Hanzo to try and convey his respect, before standing with his new husband and started walking towards the house. 

The audience clapped quietly before murmuring quietly as staff members brought what looked like trays with various alcoholic drinks. McCree caught Atsuko eager tipping back a dark and large bottle of something while Rin just laughed and shook her at her wife. The dull roar picked up a few decibels when the door closed behind them but Hanzo kept tugging him further into the house and it took until they were at his door for Jesse to realize they were at Hanzo’s room. Just before they closed the door and the noise canceling runes kicked in, McCre could make out what seemed like a full blown party going on outside.

“That hurts a man’s pride, hootin’ and hollerin’ the second he leaves,” He gripped goodnaturedly as Hanzo seemed to finally relax and started plucking at his clothing.

“It is considered good luck to celebrate as a couple… completes their marriage,” Hanzo said as he ruffled his hair to muse it, “My grandfather started that tradition because his wedding party got drunk and wild after the ceremony and that night he impregnated his wife. It has been tradition since.”

“Damn, don’t think I got the virility ta do that buuuhhhh…” His voice trailed off as Hanzo worked his pants off from underneath the top layer of his clothing, baring muscular pale thighs and his metal boots that had his mouth running dry. The tie at Hanzo’s waist was also loosened enough to expose some of his muscular chest and reveal little peeks of the yellow tattoos along his neck, shoulder and pec.

“Yes, you were saying something Jesse?” Hanzo asked.

“Sorry darlin’, your handsomeness just made my train of thought have a terrible wreck, _cause holy shit_ ,” Jesse gaped.

Hanzo blinked once and then broke out in a handsome little smirk before cheekily nudging his robe open a little more skin and Jesse’s brain was about to fry at this point. Even more so when Hanzo walked sultry like over the his bed, sinking down into it gracefully and then giving him the most sultry ‘come hither’ look and motion with his talon tipped index finger. Sort of still blanking, Jesse managed to free himself of some of his outer layers before easing himself down in Hanzo’s bed and creeping forward on his knees as he tried to undo his clothing but struggling because his hands and fingers had forgotten their jobs.

“Ya sure you want this, darlin’?” Jesse breathed.

Hanzo seemed to pause and ponder that exactly, mulling his words over before speaking in a quieter voice than before, “Yes, Jesse.”

That did not sound like enthusiastic consent, which was the only form of consent that McCree wanted at the moment.

“What’s wrong, angel? You don’t sound like you’re exactly hoppin’ up and down for this,” McCree said, gently cupping Hanzo’s jaw, sitting on his butt so he and Hanzo could be more eye to eye.

Hanzo frowned and looked away, but did not shy away from McCree’s touch. After a moment, Hanzo sighed before looking back at him, tilting his head into McCree’s hand so that the hand was more cupping his cheek than jaw.

“It’s tradition…” Hanzo said, frowning slightly.

“And you don’t want to follow tradition?” McCree tentatively asked.

“...I like you, Jesse, I really do but this is…”

“Quick?”

“Yes.”

“I got you covered, pumpkin,” McCree smiled, leaning forward to kiss Hanzo’s handsome nose. Letting go of Hanzo’s face, McCree flopped next to Hanzo in bed before spreading his arms wide. “Wanna rebel a helluva lot and snuggle?”

Hanzo stared blankly at him, like he could not believe what he just saw and heard… before snorting with laughter and then breaking down into tearful laughter. McCree grinned as Hanzo scooted closer to him before dropping on him, snuggling up close as his laughter died down to barely controlled giggles. Hanzo was incredibly warm against McCree, so warm, Hanzo comforting scent filling McCree’s nose as Hanzo tucked his head underneath his chin and pressed against his throat. McCree rumbled pleased like, wrapping his arms around Hanzo and dragging him closer and listening to Hanzo rumble in turn, also rather pleased from the warm and soft contact.

“How’s it feel, rebelin’ like this?” McCree grinned when Hanzo settled down.

“Mmmm, nice,” Hanzo rumbled. “Warm… comfortable.”

“Glad to corrupt, sugarplum,” McCree chuckled, turning his head to nuzzle into Hanzo’s soft white hair.

Hanzo snorted but nuzzled closer before slumping against him, all tucked up and safe against him. It was easy to get drowsy and feel safe and warm and comfortable like this, tucked up against someone like Hanzo who seemed to so easily fall asleep against him, already snoring softly too. McCree was already feeling his eyes get heavy before he realized that he was drifting off…

* * *

When Hanzo stirred from his surprisingly deep and restful slumber, he realized that there was someone warm and heavy curled up against his back. After a moment of trying to get his tired mind to recall whom was in his bed, Hanzo remembered what had happened the previous night and squirmed pleased like against his newly minted husband, basking in the warm and safe feeling, loving it really. At some point during the night, Hanzo or McCree had decided to wrap McCree’s arms around Hanzo’s chest and he loved the gentle and warm touch. Even Jesse’s snoring, surprisingly, Hanzo realized that he loved, a deep rumbling sound against the back of his neck as Jesse so deeply slept away curled around him.

Perhaps it was base biology that Hanzo was so happy. There was a certain buzz of endorphins and other giddy inducing things that happened when creatures mated up. There was also the spiteful voices in Hanzo’s mind that were gloating over those horrible intrusive thoughts trained by his dead father, how Hanzo did find a mate that wanted him as a person and not just the things attached to him. Regardless, Hanzo was almost bursting with joy in this simple moment. A pleased sound escaped Hanzo as he wriggled back and closer to Jesse, nuzzling back against the face in his hair and the warm breath filtering through and puffing against the back of his neck. 

Warm, safe, content, such pleasant feelings.

When Jesse groaned and stretched behind him, Hanzo craned his neck, so he could reach over his shoulder to press a loving kiss to the tip of Jesse’s nose. Hanzo loved that as Jesse’s eyes cracked open, dark brown eyes slightly unfocused with sleep, before crinkling with such a handsome and warm little smile that sent Hanzo’s heart beating so very quickly, fluttering away underneath his ribs. Gods, Jesse was a handsome man. Jesse’s squeezed the arms he had around Hanzo, pulling him closer back towards him.

“Aren’t you a handsome sight to wake up too,” Jesse drawled out, sleep having made his voice deeper and his drawl thicker until it was like heavy and warm syrup to Hanzo’s ears and sent shudders down his spine.

“As are you, husband,” Hanzo smirked, loving the way that Jesse’s cheeks pinked, and how he seemed to blush so sweetly.

“Makin’ a man blush so early,” Jesse chuckled roughly.

“But it makes you so even more handsome than you are normally,” Hanzo smirked, feeling the smug line of his mouth deepen even more when Jesse burned red, “You only grow more so the harder you blush, dear husband.”

Jesse huffed before burying his face in Hanzo’s hair and effectively hiding his blushing cheeks away from Hanzo’s gaze. Chucking to himself, Hanzo just relaxed into the warmth of Jesse’s body and stretched his body, working muscles all the way until his metal legs, stretching the false metallic muscles and joints to his metallic toes, and getting comfortable in bed again. Thankfully, his schedule had already been rearranged to allow him a day to enjoy his new husband’s company and let those base chemicals bond them and then it was back to work tomorrow. But Hanzo would think of work tomorrow though, today he would think of this comfort and warm and blanketing safe feeling of being in bed with Jesse.

A warm hand slipped from his chest and down to his hips to rub soothing circles in the skin.

“So? How’s rebelin’ taste like, pumpkin?” McCree chuckled softly.

“Mmm, very comfortable, very warm,” Hanzo chuckled back, wriggingly in McCree’s arm.

“Just you wait, you ain’t been snuggled nearly as well as I can snuggle yet. Just you wait til I sing you to sleep, sugar.”

Wanting to be more comfortable and wanting to see Jesse’s handsome face, Hanzo squirmed around until he was facing Jesse, smiling when Jesse gave him a sweet blush and little smile. Softly, Hanzo reached up to cup Jesse’s face, rubbing his fingers through Jesse’s soft beard and his jaw, their legs tangling together-

“Cold!” Jesse hissed between his teeth, pulling his legs away, “Sorry hun, your legs are colder than a witch’s tit in a brass bra.”

Ah, his prostheses, Hanzo had forgotten to take them off before going to bed. Mournfully pulling the blankets away from himself, Hanzo rolled away enough that he could sit up and stretch his legs out. Carefully, Hanzo worked the knee joint open and unlatch the main mechanism that held the metal legs. They came off with a sharp ‘ _pop_ ’ and were put aside and out of the way so that Hanzo could undo the housing ends from his knees and leave the shortened appendages bare. Troublesome things away, Hanzo got back into bed and curled up against Jesse again, thighs rubbing against Jesse’s, the thinner and wispy hair on his legs rubbing pleasantly against the thicker and wirier hair on Jesse’s.

“I… didn’t realize they were…” Jesse muttered.

“I would rather not talk about it, Jesse,” Hanzo said firmly.

“Okay… I’m sorry darlin’, I didn’t--”

“It is okay, Jesse,” Hanzo said, pressing his fingers briefly against Jesse’s mouth and hating the sad little curve to it. So Hanzo reached forward and kissed Jesse’s sad mouth until it softened and then very gradually melted into the shape of his own. This day should have been happiness and joy for them, not dredging up traumatic events in Hanzo’s life.

It would be happy dammit, Hanzo would make sure to fully indulge in this one joy in his life.

* * *

The day was blissfully lazy and slow.

There were few visits, mostly staff bringing meals and a few inquiries if the bed and blankets needed to be changed. Jesse was cutely flustered that they thought that they would be intimate most of the day, something that Hanzo did not judge him upon.

“It is tradition to do so, is all,” Hanzo explained after Jesse emerged from his last panicked ducking underneath of the covers.

“Yeah you said that, but it’s like they’re tryin’ to catch me with my junk out,” McCree grumbled.

“They are… hopeful,” Hanzo explained.

“Why’s that? You said you didn’t want no pups anytime soon,” McCree said, deciding that pressing his face into Hanzo’s abdomen was what he really wanted. Hanzo stroked McCree’s hair as the man’s bearded face rubbed against his belly.

“Yes but… it took many years to make the clan accept me as male and many do respect me and the other transgender and nonbinary pack mates that have come out in recent decades. But they still view me as capable as carrying pups and want me to carry, they see it as my duty as pack head and…”

“We ain’t doin’ nothin’ that you ain’t comfortable doin’,” McCree gruffed against his belly before pressing a kiss to the skin just above his belly button.

“I know, but you should know that we’re disappointing a lot of people, my dear husband,” Hanzo chuckled.

“And what do you know, sugar? Your’s is the only opinion that I care about,” McCree muttered into his belly.

Despite this conversation, Hanzo still contemplated being intimate with Jesse. They were both something that would prevent a pup, so there was no harm and Hanzo certainly was not against the idea. McCree had obviously been keen to the idea before catching Hanzo’s hesitance the night before… but he did not want to rush it. Hanzo liked McCree, wanted to love McCree, wanted to reach that point naturally. That and any other sexual encounter that Hanzo had had was quick and rushed and not meant to be carried on for… ‘ _slaking a desire_ ’. If and when they were intimate, Hanzo wanted it to matter and wanted to be sure that McCree would not leave when it was over.

They also dotted on each other over the day, of course. Jesse loved murmuring honeyed words and gentle soft touches that Hanzo loved just as much receiving. Loving pet names, gentle kisses along his skin, gun calloused fingers skimming his hair and skin softly and making Hanzo feel overwhelmingly loved. Being a good husband, Hanzo gladly returned the favor of course, lovingly laying gentle touches, kisses and soft and sweet words upon Jesse that had the handsome made blushing beautiful reds and pinks.

Jesse thankfully did not ask about his legs again or even mentioned then other than offering to message his stumps once, something that Hanzo gently turned down. In time, Hanzo would explain what happened to his legs and the events that lead to them, in time Hanzo would tell Jesse about his brother and what horrible thing that he had done to Genji to save him from certain death. In turn, Hanzo hoped to one day hear about Jesse’s arm and how such a powerful regenerator lost an arm that refused to grow back. Jesse did let Hanzo gentle rub his fingers along the heavily scarred tissue when the arm was taken off, message the sore stump where the prosthetic had ground against it with their movements. While scars were not enough to tell exactly what happened, just based on the layering of the scars, whatever took Jesse’s arm was not a clean or quick process and that only made Hanzo worry more.

In the evening, Hanzo wanted a shower and bath and he dragged a very willing Jesse into the bathroom to join him.

“You sure, pumpkin?” Jesse asked.

“I enjoy your insistence on making sure I am comfortable, but Jesse, but yes,” Hanzo smiled, kissing Jesse’s bearded cheek before cheekily snapping Jesse’s boxer’s waistband. Jesse balked and then looked mock shocked at him.

That did not last long though, because Hanzo let his robes dropped from his shoulders, revealing most every inch of his bare skin to McCree, who turned red.

“You’re going to have to get used to the sight of me being naked,” Hanzo said, shamelessly shucking his underwear and making McCree blush redder. “I do hope to be intimate with you in the future.”

“...Hun,” McCree wheezed out, “You can’t get a man used to the sight of perfection.”

That made Hanzo blush, choosing to kiss McCree’s mouth quickly instead of retorting before stepping into the shower. He got the water going to his desired level of heat before standing underneath the spray, letting the hot water run down him comfortably, listening to McCree scramble to get undressed after a moment before sliding the door and quickly getting in behind him. McCree tried to give him space, which was thoughtful at first, but Hanzo desired contact. Turning on his heels, Hanzo gently grabbed McCree and pulling him flush against his body and underneath the spray. A small gasp escaped McCree and Hanzo kissed his open mouth before pulling away to kiss along his jaw and down his neck and then across his collarbone, peppering the dark and freckled skin with soft kisses. McCree rumbled underneath the attention, the man’s calloused hands rubbing up and down the sides of Hanzo’s ribs tenderly and nosing into the wet hair on Hanzo’s head.

After a moment of gentle touches, Hanzo parted enough to get at the small rack of various products that he used, eager to get McCree smelling like him.

“Close your eyes,” Hanzo asked, but already getting shampoo into McCree’s hair. McCree melted into Hanzo when his hands scrubbed across McCree’s scalp and hair. McCree was very complacent to have his hair washed and washed out, before returning the favor. Hanzo sighed into the gentle touch, only muttering one very weak warning about McCree’s metal fingers snagging hair but sighing into the touch.

After hair, Hanzo wanted to run his hands over McCree’s skin under the guise of washing him, but McCree just grinned crookedly and nudge him, telling him that he was going to do it himself and left Hanzo to wash himself. Still, Hanzo watched out of the corner of his eyes as McCree did with him. At least when they were washed, Hanzo could take Jesse into the bath to soak and relax, pressed up against McCree’s wet and warm skin, nuzzling into the base of McCree’s throat.

Perfect, safe, warm.

* * *

It was after their evening meal and while the two were just snuggling in bed, Hanzo looking over a financial report that he had snuck in before the ceremony while McCree dozed at his side. One hand idly stroked McCree’s back as he quietly read, a peace in the world… until his phone started going off. McCree sleepily grumbled as Hanzo quickly grabbed it and opened the texting app.

RIN: Hanzo please answer  
ME: What is wrong, oba-san?  
RIN: You’re getting a surprise visit from Hideki :(  
RIN: He’s saying that it’s an important question about the Viskar visit soon  
RIN: But he just really wants to see if you and McCree have… you know >__>

“What’s wrong hun, you’ve gone stiff,” McCree mumbled into his side, rubbing at his eyes.

“Someone is coming to check up on us,” Hanzo said, ready to rip Hideki’s fucking fangs out of his mouth.

“...shit hun, what do you want to do?” McCree asked, sitting up.

“I do not know, we cannot exactly fake something like that in a few minutes,” Hanzo grumbled.

“...But you know what we can do?” McCree grinned.

McCree explained the plan and it brought out a deeply spiteful part of him and would send that defanged asshole packing, so he agreed. It took only a moment to enact and when the doors were snapped open rudely without a cursesty anything, Hideki was given a sight.

“Honored clan head, I have a--”

Rin and Atusko were behind him, likely trying to convince him to give Hanzo and McCree their privacy.

“Yes?” Hanzo asked innocently.

Hanzo was currently straddling McCree’s waist, wearing the man’s cowboy hat as well. McCree, who had a very loose tie in his mouth and around his wrists, waved at the crowd at the door and shouted out a muffled ‘howdy!’ at them. Hanzo stared passively at the gaping group, too stunned to react. After a moment, Rin shook her head and muttered out an apology before closing the door. When the door slammed shut, the wailing and screaming laughter of his aunts managed to make it through the runes meant to dull the noise. McCree giggled underneath of him, Hanzo failing to quell his own building laughter, giggling with his husband until his aunts’ laughter moved away from the door and then Hanzo let McCree go from his loose bonds and then he giggled with his husband. Hanzo kissed that smiling, laughing mouth and loved it so much, loved this man already so much.

In this moment, Hanzo had never been happier.


	8. Mating Rituals of Gay Nerds -(nsfw)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW WARNING: Hanzo Shimada/Jesse McCree, mlm smut, trans character, oral sex, cum swallowing, fingering, penetrative sex
> 
> GENERAL WARNING: Hanzo Shimada/Jesse McCree, fluff, dissociate states, briefly mentioned bodily trauma, briefly mentioned possible trans male pregnancy, pushy jackass

Hanzo got up early.

Jesse heard water running in the bathroom when his eyes cracked open and realized that there was no warm body in bed with him anymore and some curious groping confirmed that Hanzo was not just out of arm’s reach. With a groan, Jesse cracked open his eyes and squinted at the mostly closed door leading to the bathroom and then at the thin bit of low light coming in through the paperish sliding door that lead outside to Hanzo’s personal courtyard (Hanzo had proudly showed it off during the three days before the ceremony). With another tired groan, Jesse shook off the blanket before wobbly getting to his feet and making his way to the bathroom, scratching at his belly and trying to blink away the crust in his eyes.

“Angel?” Jesse called out softly before knocking on the door. No need to accidently step in on Hanzo if he wanted a private moment.

“Good morning, Jesse, did I wake you?” Hanzo called from the other side.

“Nah… just wonderin’ if you’re good?”

“I am… you can come in if you need.”

Not that Jesse needed to do anything, but he pushed open the door and grinned at Hanzo, currently with his haired tied up and away from his face as the man applied on a thin line of eyeliner. Damn he was stunner, and not even ready for the day too. McCree pecked Hanzo’s cheek, careful not to mess up his impeccable work, before taking a moment to splash some water on his face and then trying to finger comb his hair into some semblance of normalcy. If there was one thing McCree had against his hair, it was the cowlicks that mysteriously cropped up at night that needed to goo whipping from a hairbrush to tame once morning rolled around. After a moment of struggling, Hanzo chuckled and put down his eyeliner pen to grab a fine bristle hair brush to pass to Jesse. McCree said nothing about the two long white hairs in it and just quickly brushed his wild. He had managed to tame it by the time Hanzo had finished his eyeliner and was stepping out to get dressed, a warm hand skidding across McCree’s back teasingly. Jesse groaned appreciatively, but finished up the rest of his business before following after.

When McCree stumbled out of the bathroom finally, he saw Hanzo was getting dressed in rather plain colors for the day. Soft browns, beiges, whites, nothing striking. McCree thought it was a shame that Hanzo was making himself pop with colors more up his alley, like rich blues, golds, blacks and dark greys. But Hanzo was still breathtakingly handsome no matter what he wore and Jesse gave his hubby a peck on the cheek before going to dig through his pitiful selection of clothing for an outfit for the day.

“Do you have something planned for the day?” Hanzo asked him while McCree went through his thin selection to get dressed. Thankfully everything was clean and while worn thin in some places, there were no holes in anything he had.

“Mrs. Rin said she wanted to take me clothes shoppin’ today. Also said that I could probably help her with some of her work and Mrs. Atsuko's too.”

“Mmm,” Hanzo hummed into McCree’s ear, having crossed the room in a breath to wrap his arms around McCree’s middle.

“Howdy to you too, honey,” McCree chuckled warmly, nuzzling against the contact.

“You do not know… how much I wish to remain here and not be out there,” Hanzo hummed softly, breath tickling the shell of McCree’s ear.

“Well hun, I’ll be here tonight, just for you,” McCree said, turning his head to kiss Hanz proper like, grinning against Hanzo’s drowsy smile.

“Ugh, now I wish to leave even less,” Hanzo huffed.

“Hun, as much as I would like to keep you in here all day and just smother you in affection just like you deserve, I’m sure there are more than a few people that would make your life miserable for lettin’ me do that to you,” McCree pointed out.

Hanzo groaned, kissed Jesse once more and then stood.

“I will see you tonight, dear husband.”

“See you tonight, angel.”

* * *

McCree was tag teamed teased by both ladies as they dragged him (and the ever grouchy 76) out of the house to go clothes shopping. The first glance his way and they just broke down into wailing laughter again and each time anything was said that remotely reminded them of it, made them broke down into even more crying laughter.

“McCree-san, the cull, the absolute cull and brazen just… gods,” Mrs. Atsuko wheezed.

Right now they were in this smaller, though fancier, shop a couple miles away from the house. Jesse could see the look in the worker’s eyes that they had never served someone as scruffy as Jesse here, but thankfully Mrs. Rin and Mrs. Atsuko were with him, more concerned about their giggling than anyone gaping and staring at Jesse. Made it easier to ignore the looks, in a way. Jesse just focused on Mrs. Rin going through the piles of clothing that she had yanked from the shelves and fancy racks, putting together outfits that were both presentable and comfortable for McCree and handing them over to check their fit.

Jesse felt something like a dress up doll as Mrs. Rin made him change outfits, gauging if an outfit looked good thrown together on him, if it matched him, though unlike a doll she fretted wither or not something fit him comfortably without being too baggy. Jesse always hated clothes shopping, would rather wear literal holes through regularly using two shirts and two jeans then try and buy a week’s or more worth of closing. But this kind of fretting was… soothing in a way, calming, nice. Though Jesse liked to chalk it up to his base instincts humming with content and contact with sentient life that he had been severely lacking up until now.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hideki-san turn that shade of white before,” Mrs. Rin giggled helplessly.

“Of course you have my love, when he turned into an uptide prude at birth,” Mrs. Atsuko said with a straight face for all of several seconds before the two ladies broke down into more tearful laughter. “McCree-san, can we steal that? People need to learn the hard way to knock or announce themselves.”

“Didn’t realize it was an epidemic,” Jesse muttered.

“There is a reason we value privacy so highly,” Mrs. Rin muttered before throwing another outfit at McCree to try on.

“Speaking of invasion of privacy, I know you managed to escape it before the wedding, but you need to do your extensive physical with Yuu-san,” Mrs. Atsuko pointed out.

“Don’t remind me,” Jesse grumbled, stepping out of the dressing room so that Mrs. Rin could look him over.

“And speaking of reminding, that Vishkar dinner and speak is tomorrow night, we should get Jesse something nice to wear,” Mrs. Atsuko hummed.

“A nice simple suit,” Mrs. Rin muttered, glancing at the store’s selection before grumbling darkly underneath her breath. “We will need to go to another store for that…”

McCree groaned before getting a playful poke from Mrs. Atsuko and chuckling.

* * *

After a long day of various stressful and draining things, most of it dealing with his family, Hanzo gratefully returned to his room and hopefully to his waiting husband. Much to his delight, and then horror, McCree was indeed there, but sitting in their bed with his fingers wrapped around his prosthetic-less arm. The worrying thing that put horror into Hanzo’s heart was that McCree had a glazed over look in his eyes, the kind where someone has vanished to a dark corner of their mind to think.

“Jesse?” Hanzo asked softly.

McCree snapped out of his apparent stupor to meet his eyes and then giving Hanzo an obviously strained and tired little smile.

“Howdy angel, what have I done to earn your handsome grace?”

“Jesse, it’s night time,” Hanzo said, treadding across the room to sink into bed next to Jesse. Jesse pulled him close to his thankfully warm body, allowing Hanzo to nuzzle in against his neck and smell the man. Stress sweat, Jesse stunk of it, that further distressed Hanzo. “What happened?”

“Nothing… physical with the good doc. He didn’t do nothin’ before you ask. Just asked about the arm and I got freaked out…” Jesse sighed. “Been havin’ a lot of those lately. ‘M fine just… tired in every sense of the word.”

“...Come,” Hanzo said, mournfully pulling away from Jesse’s warmth and pulling the all too pliant man to his feet and towards the bathroom.

“I don’t stink that bad, do I darlin’?” Jesse joked weakly.

“No, but I can smell the duress on you and I think it would help you to clean it off,” Hanzo said, squeezing McCree’s hand in his.

McCree was very compliant about being undressed and being nudged into the shower and underneath the waiting hot spray. Hanzo quickly scrubbed the man down, removing the distressed smell off of Jesse’s skin. Hanzo made sure to pepper Jesse’s face, shoulders and neck in kisses while he worked, rumbling when Jesse tilted this way and that to give Hanzo more skin to kiss and further settle the man down. The spray had wet Jesse’s hair and thrown it in his face at one point, so Hanzo pushed it back until warm brown eyes looked back at him, not quite as glazed over.

“Hello, Jesse,” Hanzo smiled.

“Hey Hanzo,” Jesse chuckled weakly back, smiling a bit more genuinely.

“Better?” Hanzo asked.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Jesse sighed.

“No need to apologize,” Hanzo paused to kiss Jesse. “I wished to help.”

When they were both rinsed off, Hanzo pulled them into the bath to relax and soak. Hanzo sat facing Jesse in his lap and reclining against the man, pressed up close and just smelling the man deeply, the warm smell of a slowly calming man that he was associating with home and warmth. Hanzo did not care that the smell of Jesse made the elders of his clan turn up their noses at him, the smell of Jesse made Hanzo relax and feel comfortable.

“...Hey hun?”

“Hmm?” Hanzo rumbled.

“What’s this about a dinner tomorrow?”

Hanzo cursed underneath his breath.

“My apologies, it slipped my mind,” Hanzo sighed, nuzzling into Jesse’s throat. “One of our business partners, Vishkar, is coming over to Hanamura to speak of business and dine with us. It is more to keep up relations with them, since the Shimada family has had difficulties keeping up relations with non-Okami and non-human people. We also do, do some rather profitable business with them.”

Jesse hummed.

“Mrs. Rin got me a nice suit, I’ll be all _purtty_ for ya, hun,” Jesse said.

“You are incredibly handsome no matter what you do. I pity my attention should you get dressed up,” Hanzo chuckled.

Jesse laughed, a good and warm sound that was genuine and soft. It assured Hanzo that Jesse was better, at least for the moment. It made his instincts purr to have a happy and safe packmate, and mate, pressed up against him. Hanzo pressed a kiss to the base of Jesse’s throat and rumbled against the dark, warm skin.

Safe and warm.

* * *

The dinner seemed to be about as much fun as Mrs. Rin made it sound like when she ran Jesse through some of it while making sure that he was presentable. A bunch of stuffy people all gussied up to chat about boring shit that Jesse was not even allowed to listen too, based on how many people seemed to be stringently speaking Japanese when Jesse knew more than a few of the older folks on Hanamura grounds often spoke English before Japanese. Which was just fine by Jesse, not like he wanted to pry, just let Hanzo hold onto the arm that the man had a death grip on and tried to find ways to alleviate his aching boredom.

At least the Vishkar people did not seem overly evil, though more than once, Jesse saw 76’s visor do a quick scan and more than once saw Genji’s wild white hair sneaking around this way and that. At least the boys were getting something done. Jesse wished he had something to do other than smile and nod at people that were looking at him with _those_ eyes that Jesse knew far too well.

“Ah, Ms. Vaswani,” Hanzo said, breaking his streaking of Japanese and almost startling Jesse.

A strikingly elegant woman with a prosthetic arm and wearing an almost futuristic suit came up to them, hands neatly held together. She stunk of potent magic and scent blockers and Jesse remembered something about a ‘bird woman’.

“Good evening, Shimada-sama,” Ms. Vaswani said politely. 

“How is your evening so far?” Hanzo asked her.

“Well, as always, you are a gracious host with no match,” Ms. Vaswani said, though rather blankly so it was hard to tell if she was just saying that or if she meant it. Jesse squeezed Hanzo’s hand regardless.

“I had heard of your recent marriage,” Ms. Vaswani said, looking at Jesse before quickly looking back to Hanzo. “This must be them?”

“Yes, this is my husband, Jesse McCree,” Hanzo said, gesturing to McCree. “He is an American werewolf.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Jesse said as pleasantly as he could muster.

“A pleasure to meet you too, Mr. McCree-- my apologies, I suppose that is Mr. Shimada now,” Ms. Vaswani said, again painfully blank.

“No apologies needed, ma’am,” Jesse said.

“Shimada-sama, if I may boldly ask, might I speak with your husband privately? I wish to assess his person on my company’s behalf,” Satya said, and again painfully blank.

Hanzo stiffed and his lips twitched with what Jesse could only assume was the base need to bare teeth at the potential threat. But Hanzo caught himself before he did anything ‘uncivilized’ and instead let his handsome brow dip and scowled darkly, but schooled and cool, at the woman.

“Why?”

“Very simple, Shimada-sama. We enjoy doing business with you, and business is good. I wish to keep a high opinion of us in your husband’s mind as well as make sure that he will not try to convince you to drop our contract at all in the future,” Satya said flatly. 

An underhanded move but it made sense and she was blatantly telling them two of them what she was doing. Sure, Jesse might not have a lot of influence over Hanzo, but a few choice words would put doubt in Hanzo’s mind. Not that Jesse was going too, even if they were evil, because he was here to have a happy, healthy pack and none of that covert shit. Hanzo scowled for a moment, looking like he was going to say no and Jesse really hoped so because his danger sense was going off a mile a minute at the thought of being left alone with this woman. Or maybe it was because McCree had so few allies in this budding pack and it would have been so easy to take advantage if he left Hanzo’s side.

“I appreciate your bluntness as always, Ms. Vaswani,” Hanzo said firmly, “But if it cannot be said before me, then I would rather it not be said at all.”

“Of course, Shimada-sama, my apologies for my forwardness and rudeness,” Ms. Vaswani said with a polite inclination of her head. She seemed at least genuinely apologetic. “May I speak to the both of you then?”

So Jesse got to listen to what sounded like a heavily rehearsed spiel about the company and what they did. The discussion about hard light made sense for all of five minutes before it started breaking science rules and then Jesse was lost, a smart man he was but that specialized field was beyond him. Which was fine, since Hanzo seemed rather into it and able to keep up with the discussion, maybe he could ask Hanzo to dummy it down later. The discussion about their self sustaining neighborhoods made a bit o sense and actually did not seem like a bad idea until Jesse harshly reminded himself about all the shit Lúcio about the company. These people did not seem bad and maybe Ms. Vaswani was not bad but the company itself was fucking horrific.

“-And while we may not longer operate out of Rio de Janeiro, we still have a presence in Brazil--”

“And what did you do to provoke a high middle tier god to rally the city against you?” Hanzo cut in.

Ms. Vaswani jolted before her impeccably painted lips puckered like she had sucked on a sour candy.

“The locals did not take well to our presence. We had purchased larger parts of the city to redevelop it, improve their lives--”

_“They bullied and waved bills in someone’s face until they got what they wanted. They said that they would make our lives better, but that was crap.”_

“We wanted to make the city better by improving the value of the city and bring more jobs into the local area--”

_“Slave labor. No two shits about it man. You either worked for change for them or you starved because there was nothing left after they bought it all. Not only that but they tried to dictate everything about us. Everything. Curfews, strict laws, banning or restricting anything that they didn’t like.”_

“The locals revolted against us as we were trying to work and--”

 _“Wasn’t about to let them do that to people. So I broke in and-- come on man, they’re the bad guys, don’t give me that look. Not proud of it but it had to be done and I wanted to kick them in the teeth for what they had done. So I stole their tech and made a gun and started channeling my aura through it, through the music it could produce. We kicked their asses out of our neighborhoods seemingly overnight._ ”

“And we were forced to pull out of the neighborhood and hand it over to the locals once again.”

_“They made some bullshit story about us. But it was my word against theirs. So everything is mismatched. Don’t believe their bullshit, McCree.”_

Hanzo scowled darkly, believing it as much as McCree.

“I hope we do not need to worry about any more incidents with gods?” Hanzo asked, though the underlying tone made it seem more like an order.

“Of course, Shimada-sama,” Ms. Vaswani said, unfazed by the anger in Hanzo’s voice.

* * *

The second that it was polite enough too, Hanzo called the party to an end and very quickly absconded to their room where he slammed the door shut behind them and then sighed and deflated. Jesse wrapped his arms around Hanzo and pulled him in for a hug and some tender kisses along Hanzo’s temples and forehead, getting Hanzo to rumble pleased like underneath the attention. Jesse squeezed the arms he had around his husband and hugged him a bit tighter to his body.

“Mmm, we should shower and bath,” Hanzo purred but leaned into Jesse more.

“Hmm, sounds good, sugar,” Jesse rumbled, tilting his head to kiss the very soft skin underneath Hanzo’s ears. Hanzo shuddered against him, letting out a small groan. “Ticklish?”

“A little… sensitive,” Hanzo sighed gently.

Jesse pressed another kiss to the soft skin, liking the throaty groan that Hanzo gave him. Sighing gently against Hanzo’s skin, McCree pressed another kiss there before pulling away and smiling at Hanzo’s peaceful expression.

“Stopping?” Hanzo sighed.

“Oh, want some more, angel?” McCree grinned back.

“Yes, but on the bed.”

They got themselves free of their fancy party duds, McCree loving every inch of Hanzo’s skin that was revealed and the hubby seemingly just as happy to see every inch of McCree’s hairy and dark skin. Roughed padded fingers rubbed what was revealed. One of Hanzo’s hand strayed to Jesse’s ass and grabbed a handful, making Jesse jump and then grin.

“I enjoy your… assets, dearest husband.”

“‘Scuse you hubby, but was that a goddamn pun?”

Hanzo just grinned, letting his last garment fall before walking cheeky like to their bed. Jesse, absolutely smitten, followed after, sinking into the blankets next to Hanzo before kissing his handsome nose. Smiling softly, openly, Hanzo pulled his hair away from his neck before offering the skin for more kisses, to which Jesse eagerly took up upon. Placing a gentle hand on Hanzo’s side, Jesse encouraged Hanzo closer and started peppering the soft, warm skin with kiss after kiss, making sure to place kisses on the sensitive skin just underneath Hanzo’s ear.

Hanzo rumbled deeply, Jesse feeling the vibrations of it underneath his lips as he kissed Hanzo’s strong neck. One of Hanzo’s arms slipped around Jesse’s torso and pulled them that last bit closer, pressing them flush against one another’s chests, Hanzo groaning from the heat and contact. Feeling a bit daring, Jesse dragged his mouth slowly across Hanzo’s warm skin, pressing a kiss to the corner of his jaw, loving the deeply content little sigh that Hanzo breathed out from deep within his chest. Going from one corner of the jaw to the other, Jesse peppered kisses along the bearded skin, making sure to kiss Hanzo a good smooch on his chin/goatee. When Hanzo’s jaw felt loved enough, Jesse ventured upwards to press kisses to Hanzo’s incredibly handsome face. From his handsome nose, to his forehead, to his pink tinted perfect cheekbones and then a few teasingly around his mouth.

“Jesse,” Hanzo moaned.

Supposing that he had teased long enough, McCree pressed a full on kiss to Hanzo’s mouth, loving the way Hanzo melted against him, pressing himself that much closer and a hand squirming around until a hand could cup the back of his head and keep him there. They kissed softly, slowly, simple presses and slides of skin against skin for warmth and contact, both of them rumbling pleased like against one another. When they parted to draw in breath, the fingers in McCree’s hair tensed as though to push him back into it, but allowed him the space.

“You good, angel?” Jesse asked, liking Hanzo’s light blush a bit _too_ much but keeping that to himself.

“Very… Jesse…” Hanzo squirmed against him. “Would you… be interested in being… intimate tonight?”

Wait was Hanzo shy? No, that did not match Hanzo at all. Unsure, hesitant, maybe but… why?

“I would love too sugar,” McCree said, dragging a thumb along Hanzo’s lower lip. Hanzo kissed the pad softly. “But you seem a bit nervous about it.”

“Not nervous… yes I am,” Hanzo sighed. “This would be perhaps the first time in… no. I…”

McCree kissed Hanzo’s scrunched up forehead.

“...It has been sometime since I allowed myself indulgence. And this…” Hanzo sighed louder, frustrated.

Goes against the regime of self harm, obedience and isolation that Hanzo had built up after the crushing guilt of ‘killing’ Genji had settled in, McCree figured. If Hanzo was not punishing himself in some way then he was betraying the memory of Genji or he was forgetting his sins. Jesus, as much as Jesse wanted to help Hanzo overcome that need to constantly remind himself of his pain… he was not a man equipped to deal with that level of personal trauma. Not with his own open wounds that still bled in his head to this day.

“We don’t gotta if you don’t want too, hun,” Jesse said softly.

“I want too,” Hanzo said firmly.

“Then how can I help you forget your troubles and enjoy this, hun?”

“Kiss me.”

* * *

Smut Start

* * *

So Jesse did, firmer, more passionate, one hand fisting in Hanzo’s hair just firmly enough to give Hanzo the safe sense of ‘not letting him go’ but not tight enough that Hanzo could not pull away if he really wanted too. Hanzo groaned, pressing up against Jesse and moaning against his mouth. One of Hanzo’s legs hooked over McCree’s hip and yanked him that centimeter closer. The hand not currently fisted in Hanzo’s hair moved to the hip of the leg over his own hip, stroking the skin and thumbing along the crease of his hip until Hanzo was rolling his hips forward, grinding against McCree’s dick that was slowly hardening and aching for more.

When Hanzo pulled Jesse, was unsurprising strength, over until Jesse was on top of him, Jesse just settled comfortably but firmly on the man before licking at Hanzo’s lips, trying to coax them open, to which Hanzo eagerly did. Jesse eagerly licked up the taste of the man’s mouth, coiling his tongue with Hanzo’s briefly before tasting his fangs with a slow and gentle drag of his tongue along the sharp tips. Those fangs gently nipped his tongue, making Jesse pull away to nip at Hanzo’s lower lip softly.

“How do ya want it, angel?” McCree panted softly against Hanzo’s mouth.

“Mmm?” Hanzo rumbled.

“You know, where you want to be and how you are,” Jesse said, bending down to mouth along Hanzo’s throat for a brief moment, to feel the muscles draw up and down with each panted out breath and sort of taste the slowly building sweat on the skin. “Top, bottom, that jazz.”

Hanzo seemed to seriously contemplate that for a moment before groaning deeply, rocking his hips up and grinding the two of them together.

“We can experiment later, I wish to be penetrated tonight,” Hanzo moaned.

“Hmm, like the sound of that,” Jesse rumbled, already using a finger to start tugging down Hanzo’s underwear. “Experimentin’ I mean. Wouldn’t mind bein’ the one to ride you. Strap on a nice toy on you and bounce a bit on your cock.”

Hanzo moaned, arching his hips to make it easier to undress him. The silvery treasure trail that went from Hanzo’s modestly hairy chest, down the length of Hanzo’s belly, lead to a white and very neatly trimmed and maintained bush above Hanzo’s junk. From the pale hairs, a thick little dick was poking out, flush with blood and looking like it was aching for a gentle touch. Licking his lips, Jesse shimmed down until he could be the ideal level to give Hanzo some head.

“This good, hun?” Jesse rumbled.

“Yes, very,” Hanzo groaned.

Jesse kissed the head of Hanzo’s dick, drawing out a grunt, before parting his lips and licking the underside of the head and then dragging his tongue along the crease of the hood. Strong hands found Jesse’s hair as he took his time mapping out Hanzo’s dick with his just the tip of his tongue, equal parts loving and teasing. A groan escaped Jesse’s mouth as he tasted Hanzo, the bitterness and saltiness, before he ducked his head a bit to sweep his tongue down to Hanzo’s hole, finding it already warm and wet from arousal. A few licks let Jesse slip a bit of his tongue inside, making Hanzo buck hard before trying to roll his hips into Jesse’s face. A small grin tugged at Jesse’s busy mouth as he lapped in long, languid drags from Hanzo’s dick to his hole, liking this eager side of Hanzo, this side of him that was distracted from all distractions and just focused on the pleasure.

“Jesse,” Hanzo panted.

Jesse wrapped his lips around Hanzo’s dick and sucked softly, but it still got an intense reaction out of him, Hanzo arching off the bed and keening loudly. So Jesse kept sucking and licking Hanzo’s dick, listening to the man moan and grunt and growl in pleasure, loving the sounds, smell, taste, the strong hands in his hair holding on weakly and the strong hips pressing against his face. A moan escaped Jesse as he reached down to idly pet his dick through his underwear, teasing himself and keeping himself hard as he kept sucking. Drool and Hanzo’s cum coated the lower half of Jesse’s face as he worked, the both of them getting more and more excited as this went on.

“I’m… close,” Hanzo moaned loudly.

“Do you want to cum from this or wait?” Jesse said, barely pulling away from Hanzo, still letting his breath ghost over Hanzo’s dick.

“Please,” Hanzo groaned, rocking his hips, “Please Jesse.”

Grinning, Jesse ducked his head back down and pressed his tongue to Hanzo’s hole, broadening his tongue as much as he could before dragging it up, up, catching on the underside of Hanzo’s dick before taking it into his mouth. Sealing his lips around the base as best he could, Jesse started suck harder, really working his tongue over what he could, coaxing that orgasm out of Hanzo hard, hot and fast. It took only a few swallowing motions of his mouth before Hanzo was howling, arching off the bed hard and pressing down against Jesse’s mouth as hard as he could to coax everything he could get out of his orgasm. Jesse eagerly gave Hanzo just that, sucking softly on the twitching dick between his lips before the hands in his hair tugged as sensitivity won out. Of course Jesse pulled off, though giving Hanzo a few gentle and teasing licks before pulling back tp lick at the mess on his face.

“You good, Hanzo?”

Hanzo was a handsome wreck. Face flushed, skin sweaty, muscular chest heaving away and lungs billowing with each breath. Hanzo’s dick twitched, a bit of clear cum dribbling out of him and the slightly puffy and flushed folds. Jesse could look at this sexy as hell sight for the rest of his life and die a happy man, especially since he was the one to do this to such a man. Even more so when Jesse realized that Hanzo had been knocked out of his half glamor nonetheless! Now a pair of fuzzy wolf like ears had sprung up from where Hanzo’s ears had been and McCree saw a white tail idly swinging between Hanzo’s spread legs and underneath his cute butt.

“Mmm,” Hanzo contently moaned, reaching his arms out until Jesse got the hint and leaned back down over the man, getting pulled in close and kissed slowly and passionately. Hanzo seemed interested in the taste of himself on Jesse’s tongue and took his time in exploring it. When they pulled away, there was some drool in Hanzo’s beard from the sloppy kiss. “Very.”

Grinning, Jesse quickly went back to kissing the man sweetly until a grunt escaped him as Hanzo’s hand cupped his dick through his underwear.

“I want to return the favor,” Hanzo practically purred against Jesse’s mouth.

Jesse moaned as he let himself get manhandled onto his back, Hanzo straddling his thighs. A very handsome smile graced Hanzo’s very handsome face as the man kissed him, and then started his way down, kissing Jesse’s skin reverently and in a way that had Jesse’ heart hammering and an almost overwhelming sense of love wash over him. Hanzo kissed his way down Jesse’s neck, down over his chest, over his belly with extra tender kisses, pausing to tug his underwear all the way down and off, before bypassing his pelvis entirely and kissing along the inside of his thighs.

“Hun,” Jesse groaned, loving this so much.

Hanzo hummed, pressing kiss after kiss to the dark hairy skin until Jesse was squirming, reaching out and stroking Hanzo’s hair and fuzzy ears as though to spur him on and quit with the teasing. Hanzo just gave McCree a cheeky smile up at him, using his arms to keep Jesse’s thighs pinned to the bed as he kissed slowly and languidly, moving further and further up Jesse’s thighs by what felt like a centimeter at a time. When Hanzo finally got close, he only offered a sultry look and gave the head a kiss before letting just the tip of his tongue out to trace down the length of Jesse’s cock. A shudder ran down Jesse’s spine from the feathery light touch, a deep and rumbling moan escaping his chest when Hanzo went back up with a firmer and broader stroke of the tongue.

When Hanzo made his way back up to the head, he parted his lips and took it into his mouth, shallowly working his mouth around it loosely before pulling off to pull a blow of air on the skin and making Jesse shudder from head to toe.

“Fuck, Hanzo,” Jesse moaned.

Hanzo took the head into his mouth again, sucking lightly and working his tongue along the underside, coaxing more and more moans out of Jesse as he was kept pinned to the bed. It did not take long for Hanzo to find out what made Jesse moan and buck hard, turned into a loud mess as Hanzo’s strong arms pressed down against his thighs and kept him a willing captive of the pleasure. When Hanzo started taking what he could into his mouth and then down some, Jesse melted, becoming a loose mess and just letting Hanzo blow him away. Only to wind right back up when Hanzo went really down and Jesse felt himself nudge the back of Hanzo’s mouth and start down his throat.

Jesse whimpered as pleasure ran up and down his spine and made his skin break out into gooseflesh as he felt his thighs tense up with his coming orgasm. Gods he was getting close and getting there fast and if Hanzo did not pull off soon, then he was going to get a mouthful.

“An-angel, you’re gonna…. _fuck_ , I’m… close,” Jesse managed between pants.

Hanzo pushed down, taking him in deep and Jesse gasped as his orgasm hit him hard, shaking with the pleasure as he spent in Hanzo’s mouth, feeling himself twitch against the inside of Hanzo’s mouth as Hanzo sucked all that he could and pulled off with a sly smirk on his handsome face. Jesse was too busy trying to catch his breath to really pay attention, but his eyes sluggishly found Hanzo’s as the man sat up and very obviously swallowed before licking his lips slowly.

“Damn,” Jesse gruffed.

Hanzo just hummed, shuffling forward to kiss him sweetly, the edge of need taken off. Taking the moment of lull, Jesse ran his hands up and down Hanzo’s sides, stroking the warm and slightly sweaty skin. Hanzo ran his fingers through Jesse’s hair and beard, rumbling pleased like against Jesse’s mouth from the contact and gentle affection. When they pulled apart, they both were flushed and loose and languid.

“You’re so warm,” Hanzo rumbled.

“Good ol’ werewolf warmth, sugarplum,” Jesse grinned, getting his arms around Hanzo and hugging him close. Hanzo rumbled.

“I… would like to continue,” Hanzo said.

“Need a minute for that, angel. Want me to open you up a bit?”

Hanzo wanted to straddle Jesse’s thighs while being fingered, so that they could kiss one another, tasting each other’s mouths and lingering pleasures. Hanzo did not have any lube, quipping softly that he would need to get some if they were going to experiment in the future, but between wetting a few fingers with spit and how wet Hanzo was naturally and with his orgasming, it was not hard for things to get slippery enough for it. Using his flesh hand, Jesse eased in one finger, then two and then three, spreading Hanzo and wiggling his fingers to stretch him out, get him ready, make him tense up as the pleasure mounted. When Hanzo started clenching around his fingers, voice hitching and rising, Jesse gently eased his fingers out and licked them clean.

“You got a rubber?”

“We both are on contraceptives, Jesse.”

“I know, but I know some people don’t like the mess or feelin’.”

“It is fine, Jesse,” Hanzo kissed him, groaned against his mouth.

Jesse kissed him back, using his still slightly sticky hand to wrap around himself, stroking his half hardness to fullness before holding himself as Hanzo lowered his hips. It took a few fumbles, a few drags of the sensitive head of Jesse’s dick dragging across Hanzo’s wet folds and slit before it lodged in Hanzo’s hole and started pushing in. And gods, it was perfect, Hanzo was perfect, tight and wet and clenching around Jesse and the man moaning as he worked his hips further down and Jesse really had to focus to not just spend himself too early.

They sloppily kissed, both sort of mushy from the pleasure, tongues, teeth and lips sliding awkwardly and sluggishly against one another as they rocked and moved against one another, Hanzo working himself further and further down onto his lap. McCree’s hands settled on Hanzo’s hips and squeezed them, groaning as Hanzo swung in his hips to get more inside of him. Fuck, Hanzo was making it really hard not to just fumble and rush--

Hanzo pressed hands to Jesse’s shoulders and pushed down, pinning Jesse on his back. A grunt escaped Jesse’s chest as he looked up at Hanzo and the sight made Jesse break out in gooseflesh. Hanzo’s handsome face was flushed, mouth open with his pants and moans, eyes lowered and practically burning Jesse with their stare. The hands on Jesse’s shoulder squeezed before Hanzo lifted himself up and then dropped down further on Jesse’s dick, a deep rumbling moan escaping Hanzo’s chest from the slide and stretch. A gasp escaped Jesse’s mouth and he just squeezed Hanzo’s hips as he was ridden, biting his lip as he watched the show.

Watching Hanzo’s chest heave with each breath, moan and pant. Watching Hanzo bounce up and down on his cock, delving wetly into Hanzo and the wet sounds of their movement. Watching Hanzo writhe and arch as he bounced on him.

“Hanzo,” Jesse panted.

Hanzo clenched around him and Jesse knew that he was not going to last long. One of the hands clamped down on Hanzo’s hips strayed over to grab Hanzo’s dick between three fingers and started stroking Hanzo off. Hanzo yelled, clenching hard around Jesse and his bouncing stuttering as he took to just rolling his hips. Jesse felt himself tense and draw up as Hanzo kept clenching around his cock but he just stroked Hanzo off faster in response, trying to hold off until Hanzo came. Jesse maybe had ten seconds until that-

Hanzo threw back his head and groaned, a thunder like noise deep in his chest that would probably get confused as such if anyone heard it, clenching quick and fast around Jesse as he messily came on Jesse’s dick. Unable to hold back, Jesse moaned as he rutted up into Hanzo to ride out the waves of his own orgasm, shuddering as sensitivity prickled all over his being as he jerked and spent inside of his husband before stalling and stilling as it all rushed over him.

They panted as they remained as they were for a moment, trying to catch their breath and just enjoying the pleasant feelings rushing over them. When the sensitivity won out, Jesse gently eased Hanzo off of him before gently letting him fall on his chest and hugging him close, kissing Hanzo’s flushed and sweaty face.

“You good, angel?” Jesse asked after a moment.

“Yes. Very.”

Jesse kissed Hanzo’s forehead sweetly and softly.

“Want to wash off? I’ll carry ya.”

Hanzo nodded sleepily so Jesse picked him up and carried him to the bathroom, Hanzo languidly kissing along Jesse’s neck sweetly and rumbling happily. Jesse held onto Hanzo in the shower, tenderly washing him off, though loathe to scrub the smell of him off of Hanzo’s skin. A few prodding fingers got most of his spend out of Hanzo, at least so it would be more comfortable later for him. When they were done washing off in the shower, they soaked in the tub, Jesse just dotting on Hanzo as the man seemed far too content with life to do much else but snuggle.

Happy, safe and warm.

* * *

Smut End.

* * *

Hanzo had a bounce to his step in the morning.

Not only had he had great sex, great enough to knock him out of his glamor and sex had not done that to him… ever. But he had woken up in Jesse’s arms with the man’s face pressed against his chest and sleeping away and with a very sweet ‘good morning’ and kiss that had made Hanzo feel very loved and cherished. Jesse had even brushed his hair for him, making Hanzo feel so incredibly loved and pampered.

While there was a small nagging voice in the back of Hanzo’s head, the one that also demanded hyper vigilance, always self destruction, never forgetting what he had done to Genji… this morning Hanzo ignored it. He was happy and that was a rare enough feeling. He was going to enjoy it, he was going to savor it, bask in the feeling that he had been deprived. Hanzo honored Genji’s memory often, often did what he could to right what wrong he had done. His trauma could fuck off for the morning at least.

So when he went into his officer, Hanzo’s mood was in a much better place than it was most mornings.

“Good morning, Shimada-sama,” Rin said as she came in with a few files in her arms, pausing as she took him in. Hanzo heard his aunt smell in deeply and realize that she was about to be horrifically scandalized. Which she was, mouth opening and eyes popping wide. “Oh!”

“Yes,” Hanzo sighed, “Please do not be strange about this, oba-san.”

“Right, sorry,” Rin grinned, stepping over to his desk and placing the files on his desk. “...That would explain the howl I heard last night.”

Hanzo turned red. The doors leading the gardens… they had not been shut. A groan escaped him as his aunt just wailed in laughter. His only comfort was knowing that Jesse was going to get this too at one point.

* * *

“Yuu-san.”

Yuu groaned loudly before looking at the old defanged wolf now standing in his clinic. Hideki glared right back, always hating Yuu informalness and general ‘childish’ attitude but honestly Yuu could care less. Hideki had no power over Yuu and the worst he could do was bitch, which Hideki did often. It was all hot air in Yuu’s opinion.

“What?” Yuu groaned.

Hideki snarled low and in his throat. Yuu just lazily showed his teeth, Hideki not worthy of meeting the threat. It made a vein in Hideki’s temple bulge but he dropped it.

“I wish to know if the clan head carries yet,” Hideki asked.

“And you say I’m blunt,” Yuu grunted and Hideki growled. “I don’t know. It hasn’t been that long, Hideki-san.”

“Did you or did you not test McCree-san’s virility?”

“Uh, yeah, and he’s perfectly nominal for a werewolf his age--”

“And the clan head’s fertility?”

“Oh my god,” Yuu groaned, putting his face in his hands. “Listen, Hideki, I realize that you’re a giant fucking asshole who can’t respect boundaries or do we need to go over the cowboy incident again?”

Hideki turned red.

“The clan head does not want to carry at the moment. I can’t make him. McCree-sama doesn’t want Hanzo to carry. I can’t make him either. And I know you’re older than dirt and want the clan head to continue the line but Hanzo is in perfect health, the clan is holding steady and there’s nothing pressing going on so… no.”

Hideki looked aghast and Yuu would have laughed at the old bastard if his spouse did not quietly slip into the room.

“Akira!” Yuu grinned.

“Rin-san sent me with a file she wishes you look over for another arranged marriage,” Akira said softly, smiling at their husband.

“Now if you'll excuse me, Hideki?” Yuu said, already putting his back to the defanged asshole. Hideki paled with rage but stormed out without a word.

“He is going to be mad at you for that,” Akira sighed.

“Yeah, yeah,” Yuu grumbled, “But that old asshole needs his ears tweaked every once in awhile or he gets way too snippy. And I have a point. Hanzo isn’t like the previous clan heads and he’s not going to allow himself to be pressured into having pups because the clan wants it. And McCree is far too nice of a man to force Hanzo to change his mind. I doubt we’ll see pups for a number of years out of those two.”

Yuu gently wrapped an arm around Akira’s waist and pulled them close to him.

“Besides, since when haven’t I enjoyed pissing off the old wolves?” Yuu chuckled as he hugged his spouse.

“Still,” Akira sighed, running their fingers through Yuu’s hair, “I worry about you.”

“That’s because you love me,” Yuu teased.

“Very. Now please look at the files, you know Rin is in her busy bee mode and does not like to be held back.”

“Ugh,” Yuu whined against Akira’s belly while they just giggled.


	9. Hack The World (nsfw)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GENERAL WARNING: Language, violence, very very briefly mentioned transphobia and gory violence against transphobes, assassination attempt, gore, briefly mentioned body horror
> 
> NSFW WARNING: mlm smut, trans character, bathtub sex, penetrative sex, multiple orgasms, barebacking
> 
> Jesse's getting into the swing of things and someone decides to get things moving in the background

The first attempt on Jesse’s life was almost a disappointment.

Firstly, it had been two quiet weeks around the house with absolutely nothing happening. Jesse worked with Mrs. Rin in her work, Mrs. Rin absolute adoring his people skills and wider knowledge of non-Okami non-humans. While Jesse was still not allowed to know of some stuff, like more detailed knowledge of some of the pack, Jesse was glad that he was busy and doing work that was slow but enjoyable. It certainly did not make Jesse lose sleep at night like some Blackwatch work!

Jesse and Hanzo were happy as a june bug at a porch light sale, though often apart. It seemed that the older members of the pack figured that nothing they could do could have stopped the ceremony, or make Hanzo want to carry a pup right away, then they could make Hanzo’s daily work life a nightmare and keep them apart. They chatted when they could, mostly when McCree was given the ‘okay’ to slip away from work to slip into Hanzo’s office, sometimes at night if Hanzo was not too tired from the day. But often the most they got of the other was when Hanzo dragged himself into their room and collapsed in bed.

They were intimate once in those two weeks. Some late night snuggling one evening got a bit frisky and McCree held his husband close. They did not do anything special, the moment sort of just upon them, and Jesse rolled his hips into Hanzo in slow and languid thrusts, wringing each sweet and breathy and loud noise that he could out of Hanzo. Eye to eye and lips to lips as they gasped and moaned together and then snuggled even closer when they were done.

All in all, nothing much happened in those two weeks.

The assassination attempt came when Jesse had snuck into Hanzo’s office, a nice looking lady came by with tea on the tray and two cups, which really should have been the first indicator that something was wrong since Hanzo was supposed to be by himself. Jesse was too busy being charismatic and trying and getting into the lady’s good graces to overlook his being there. Not sure when what it was that was snuck into his glass, but it tasted sharply bitter, to the point of pain. Jesse had opened his mouth to say something when he coughed and then spat blood.

Not sure what happened after that, things were super fuzzy for about five minutes. When Jesse’s head cleared with five alarm heartburn, a raw throat and a mouth that felt scrubbed raw and bloody, Hanzo had apparently dragged the lady out already. There were bloody handprints where desperate hands had clutched and clawed at the walls to stay. For lack of a better option, Jesse had just stayed in Hanzo’s office, nursing his discomfort until Mrs. Rin came worriedly looking for him and then helping him to Yuu’s office.

“Wow, this was some poison,” Yuu hummed as he looked at a sample of the poison from whatever had been left over from the tea that Jesse had not drunk. Jesse was nursing an equally nasty cup of this bright green stuff that tasted and settled like cough syrup and Jesse almost wished he was drinking the poison again. But Jesse needed to be the adult and threw it back in one bitter swallow. “Not cheap… smells very organic… smells like it was made to hurt.”

“Can you tell if it was aimed at Hanzo or Jesse?” Mrs. Rin asked.

“Jesse, likely. This type of poison, based on the smell, is designed to attack biologically rather than magic like someone who would want to hurt an Okami would want. While this poison would hurt us, we would recover faster because of magic,” Yuu sighed as he dumped the glass into his office’s sink.

“Shit, and here I thought I was bein’ pleasant as a peach,” Jesse rasped.

“You have been, some people are just assholes,” Yuu sighed. “But thankfully you’re a rather powerful werewolf, else you would be puking up blood for hours despite my help. So whoever is trying to kill you is criminally underestimating you.”

“Yay,” Jesse groaned.

The good thing about it was that Hanzo dropped everything after taking care of the bearer of the poison to fret over Jesse when Yuu slyly, and knowingly, suggested bed rest. So Jesse got to have Hanzo nuzzle and fret and worry over him despite the quickly receding pain and soreness after taking the gross medicine. Especially when Hanzo spooned up behind Jesse and hugged him close, something that Jesse loved a lot and decided needed to happen every night for the rest of eternity, especially with Hanzo’s muscular arms. Sleep came easily enough and the next day, Jesse was more or less ready to face it at least.

* * *

“I’m surprised that they waited this long,” Genji said.

Through some unknown method, Genji had swapped rooms until he was in Soldier 76’s room. Now when Jesse hung out with 76, because of course he would be buddies with the man looking out for his back, he could hang out with Genji as well. And right now Genji was chatting with Jesse and how it took the family almost three weeks to try and off him.

“It’s still awful, but usually they’re timely with these things,” Genji hummed, both part angry and intrigued. “Mother was poisoned the day after father’s and her’s ceremony, poison in a hairpin that she pricked herself with. Then someone tried to physically strike her down the day after. Needless to say for the existence of both Hanzo and myself, neither worked out well.”

“Anyone try to kill you?” Jesse asked.

“Nah, I was Sojiro’s kid,” Genji shrugged casually. “Sojiro, Hanzo and myself were pretty much untouchable with that shit. Well… almost. Hanzo had a few attempts against his life when he came out and let’s just say he earned the respect of everyone through violent and bloody means. Honestly, it was great to watch him kill or knock around those assholes.”

“... Jesus…”

“Yeah.”

Genji nudged Jesse.

“Anyway, we’re making progress. I found two family members that are funnelling money knowingly to anti-human and non-human supremist groups. They’re lesser members that already look like they’re going to get kicked out of the family for other things,” Genji said.

“That’s good…”

“Nothing on Hanzo, trust me, I looked,” Genji snorted, grinning lopsided at Jesse. “If anything it looks like he might be trying to do part of my job for me.”

“I know, I know, I just…”

“Are you okay, Jess?” Genji asked.

“It’s killing me, G man,” Jesse sighed.

“What is?”

“Everythin’. Keepin’ the truth about you from Hanzo, keepin’ the truth about your mission. And I’m not used to feelin’ safe and…”

Genji gingerly reached out to touch Jesse’s shoulder, rubbing it softly before leaning in for a hug that Jesse gratefully accepted.

“I know, I know… it’s killing me too, Jesse. But it would really not help to tell him if he ends up reacting badly or the family ends up getting broken apart if the corruption runs too deep. We’ll find the time and the right place to tell Hanzo everything, I promise. But right now it would be more dangerous than anything, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jesse sighed.

“We’ll do this as best we can given the shitty circumstances, Jess, just you see,” Genji said, squeezing Jesse.

“I really hope so, G man, I really do.”

* * *

A few days later, there was a ruckus raised about something.

Now, Jesse had been steadily improving his Japanese through a little bit of help from Mrs. Rin but mostly through rush sessions with Genji. Still could not read most kanji for the life of him, but he was learning a bit more words by the ear. Jesse could string together a lot more sentences then before he got there, that was for sure. So when the yelling started, Jesse could more or less understand what was being screamed out.

Apparently there was an argument going on about him, since the words ‘ugly flea bitten mutt’ was being tossed around with insulting frequency. Hanzo was telling someone off about it and that he would gladly take Jesse to some event. The same person insulting Jesse’s very being kept throwing the same damned insult backup a thousand different ways to prove their point. Something about the honor of the family and how they would look bad if Jesse was brought along. Hanzo argued back that Jesse was family now and that if they did not bring him along then they look like they were ashamed of him and weak. The argument that he was an ugly flea bitten mutt was brought back up.

“That sure makes a man feel special,” Jesse groaned as he eyed the door.

“Hmm?” Mrs. Rin said, squinting down at a file.

“Listenin’ to some old wolf about how I’m an ugly flea bitten mutt,” Jesse sighed.

Mrs. Rin immediately looked up, eyes opening widely for a brief second before she deflated and sighed deeply.

“I should have known that you would learn more of our language in such a short time,” Mrs. Rin sighed deeply, “My apologies for their attitude, Jesse. There are many family members that are…. Obsessed with how aesthetically appealing we are for public events.”

“Speaking of, which one and I apparently not good lookin’ enough for?”

“A charity event that we attend and donate a rather considerable amount too every year,” Mrs. Rin explained. “It funds efforts that bridges the social gaps between humans, non-humans and feuding non-humans. It is a night of socializing between humans and non-humans, wining, dining, all those sorts of things. It is a very… media covered event, so many of the older members always fret over how aesthetically pleasing everyone is for it and--”

Mrs. Rin stood and went over to the door and shouted the last bit out in Japanese.

“ _If some people were so --- with looks then they would care to check themselves!_ ”

Jesse was sure that that one word was ‘obsessed’ or something likewise, but chuckled none the less when the shouting quieted down a great deal. Looked like someone got caught. With a slightly satisfied huff, Mrs. Rin came back to her desk and their work and sitting down with a bit more force than necessary.

“Regardless. I think you should go because one, you’re part of the family and the event calls upon the Shimada family, two, your Hanzo’s husband and a handsome man regardless, and three, I think it would really send a message to purist families to see a family like us that were once staunchly purist breaking away from that outdated tradition.” Mrs. Rin rattled off, huffing as she briskly snapped some papers into file.

“Well I don’t want to make a fuss when it comes down to brass tacks,” Jesse sighed, “Not to mention, you may have paid off my bounty, but I’m sure there are still assholes out there huntin’ me.”

“That is true,” Mrs. Rin sighed. “But note, that myself and Hanzo would like you to go, regardless.”

Jesse let it drop from his thoughts and mind for a few hours, working with Mrs. Rin on everything that she could think of from filtering through arranged marriage contracts, security contracts, a few business contracts. Anything that Mrs. Rin could let Jesse see, without some crabby assholes not kicking up too much of a fuss. Maybe one day people would trust Jesse with more than the small fry stuff, but right now this was enough. 

Mrs. Rin had muttered something about grabbing them something quick to eat for dinner after a few hours. So they could work just a bit more before calling it a night. However, they got a surprise visitor that came knocking.

“Come in,” Mrs. Rin called.

When the door slid open, Jesse perked up and grinned.

“Hey sugar, what brings your handsome self ‘round these parts?” Jesse smiled at Hanzo.

“I require your presence, dear husband,” Hanzo sighed heavily.

Oh shit… Hanzo looked tired. Not just tired, like… sick tired. The bags underneath his eyes were darker than normal, skin paler, looked slightly disheveled like he was continuously adjusting everything and not managing to put it back right a little less every time.

“Hun, are you okay?” Jesse asked, deeply worried.

“I have not felt well today and certain people have only aggravated it,” Hanzo sighed, rubbing his face slowly. “I will be fine when I rest. But right now the seamstress is waiting for you to make you a suit for an event that I will be taking you to.”

“Okay hun.”

As much as Jesse’s base instincts demanded to just smother Hanzo in reassuring touch and affection and fret, he had a feeling that it would only further the stressed thin man. So Jesse just stood, quickly bidding Mrs. Rin a good night, before following after Hanzo. Jesse still grabbed onto Hanzo’s hand and squeezed it though, feeling a bit better when Hanzo squeezed his hand back and gave him a small sliver of a smile. Jesse still made a note to really give Hanzo some extra lovin’ when they went to bed.

The seamstress was the one that had outfitted Jesse for the wedding, scowling a little less but still looking like she had sucked on a sour lemon candy. She also wore less scent blockers and Jesse got a whiff of the spider underneath, the woman also toying with some threads between her fingers.

“Evenin’ ma’am,” Jesse said politely.

“ _Good evening,_ ” The seamstress said bluntly. “ _Please undress to your underthings._ ”

Hanzo stayed, sitting heavily down in a chair and letting out a long and loud groan as he leaned back in the chair, digging into his clothes right where flesh met his prosthetics. Poor man.

Jesse got undressed, impressing the seamstress that he understood and softening the hard look on her face a bit. When the seamstress measured Jesse out, it was a hell of a lot less briskly then what seemed like a short while ago. She hummed and muttered as she used her measuring tape to get the numbers she needed. Most of what she was saying was too quietly muttered for Jesse to get, but at one point she asked Hanzo for a ‘theme’ and Hanzo said something back about ‘how it was undecided’. That just made Jesse feel a lot worse about it.

“Shimada-sama, how am I supposed to craft something without a theme?” The seamstress asked, switching to English.

“Because apparently someone circulated a rumor that we would not be attending and without out our usual donation, they are considering canceling it,” Hanzo grumbled. “Thus…”

“...hun, if I may be so bold and make a suggestion?” Jesse started.

“Hmm?”

“They’re so goddamn worried about my mug, why not just slap a mask on everyone?”

Hanzo’s eyes got big.

“A quick and easy solution, clan head. I quite like this one, are we keeping him?”

“As far as I’m concerned. Yes. And forever.”

* * *

The last fancy party that McCree went too was… jesus it was years and year ago and it was not for long. 

Some fancy party for Blackwatch and Overwatch, Jesse thought it was something about some big thing that the older operatives had done. Spent about fifteen minutes in this stuffy suit that Gabriel had gone through the trouble of getting for him before trailing out after Gabriel when the old vampire had gone out for a smoke break. What was a smoke break had turned into Jesse wheezing on one of his first cigarettes as Gabriel ranted about some shit going on higher on the ladder than them, something that had Gabriel’s eyes glowing red and his teeth out in force. Eventually Gabriel had gotten himself so pissed that he just left with Jesse trailing after him, relieved that he did not have to go back.

So Jesse felt more than a little like a fish out of water for this party. It was fancy, it was going to be long, he was going to be watched like a hawk by the prudish members of the family that was attending, he would be around a hell of a lot of other people and just… gods he was giving himself anxiety just thinking about it. Thankfully, Jesse still knew how to act prim and proper, Blackwatch had taught him a lot and he was just that damned good regardless, just… back then it had been a job to do it and now he wanted to do it for Hanzo.

Speaking of which…

“You sure you’re okay, honeysuckle?” Jesse asked.

Rest over the past several days had done _very little_ for Hanzo. The bags underneath his eyes were still pretty bad, skin still notably pale, cheeks a bit drawn and generally his eyes were glazed over.

“I will survive,” Hanzo groaned.

Right now Hanzo was trying to remedy some of his sickly looks with a touch of makeup. A little bit of tinted powder on his cheeks, a little bit of concealer on his bags to make them less noticeable. Sitting on the counter of the bathroom with his clothes all loose and undone with all of his hair pulled up and out of the way. A small and annoying voice in the back of Jesse’s head lamented not being able to enjoy the view, but most of Jesse was concerned that Hanzo had to cover up how worn out/sick he looked.

“I’m sorry hun, but I really can’t believe that,” Jesse said, frowning as Hanzo rubbed on and blended another layer of concealer underneath his eyes to lessen the purple even more. Jesse got in close, leaning against the counter and right in front of Hanzo. Nothing smelled wrong, thankfully, but still Jesse worried.

“I promise. It is just stress and tiredness,” Hanzo said, relenting and putting his things aside to face Jesse. With the makeup on, someone who did not care or did not have eyes as good as Jesse’s would think that Hanzo was fine. But werewolf eyes saw a lot, like the makeup, and Jesse knew how the man looked without it. And pack instincts were telling Jesse to ditch the party and instead focus in on whatever was causing his pack mate, and mate, duress.

“You’re not gonna push yourself or nothin’, are you?” Jesse asked, looking down at Hanzo’s legs, parted on each other of his legs. Hanzo’s clothing was parted enough that Jesse could see his pale thighs, and the scarred flesh before they disappeared into the house cup of Hanzo’s prosthetic legs. It made the worry sharp and painful and bright and Jesse felt his stomach twist and knot hard enough to take his breath away.

“I promise,” Hanzo said quietly. “We will not be staying the duration of the event. We will make an appearance, stay for some of the shows and then leave. I am far too tired to make myself to much more.”

Jesse let out a hurt whine and Hanzo reacted, leaning forward into Jesse’s space, knocking their foreheads together and butting against him, letting out a puzzled and worried noise at the back of his throat. Worried about him even if he was dead miserable… man that hurt. Jesse deflated and rubbed against Hanzo’s forehead, hands settling on Hanzo’s thighs and squeezing the muscular limbs. The egging worry on Jesse’s mind would not go away.

“I will visit Yuu after the event,” Hanzo sighed.

“Okay, pumpkin,” Jesse said, rubbing his thumbs in little circles on the revealed flesh right above the scarred skin.

“... I do not mean to worry you, my dear husband,” Hanzo said, lifting his hands to cup Jesse’s face. A talon tipped thumb brushed Jesse’s lower lip and he kissed it.

“I’d worry even if you were healthy as a centaur,” Jesse sighed.

“Hmm,” Hanzo rumbled, tilting Jesse’s head to kiss him on the mouth, proper and sweet and long. “I do love that about you… your caring nature.”

“Nah, that’s just me bein’ decent,” Jesse said.

Hanzo kissed him again and Jesse tried to relax, at least for a moment.

But they had to part, the party was soon and Jesse was sure that making Hanzo and himself late was sure to ruffle some fur or another. So Hanzo finished hiding how sick and tired he looked as Jesse finished putting on his suit and then they put their masks on. It was a masquerade after all, another thing that had Jesse on edge even if he was the one that suggested it. People in masks always freaked him out. But the suggestion had gone over very well, especially if they could hide Jesse’s face underneath a rough werewolf shaped mask while the rest of the family had more Okami shaped, another reason to put distance between the two of them.

When they were dressed up, Hanzo stood on his toes to tilt his head enough to land a kiss on Jesse’s mouth before taking his hand and leading them outside.

It felt like it had been too long since Jesse had been outside, but he supposed that he had been busy doing other things. The sun was setting and there was a certain freshness in the air that Jesse drew in deep and let fill his chest as he let Hanzo lead them out to the car that would specifically take himself, Hanzo, Rin and Atsuko to the event.

“They really felt this necessary?” Atsuko sighed when they slid into the car. She was dressed up as well, wearing a mask similar to Hanzo’s but the gold marks were along the brows of the mask. “Why must they be so huffy and do something like this?”

“Because most of them may be over a thousand years ago, but they never grew up past puppyhood,” Rin sighed heavily, her mask was similar to Hanzo’s, two slashes on the cheeks done in shimmery gold paint.

Hanzo grunted, taking his seat next to McCree and pressing up close, one hand finding McCree’s and squeezing it. Jesse squeezed the fingers entwined with his as the car took off with the other four with the family members attending the event.

“Sometime I just don’t understand their thought process. They won’t win. But they fight for a lost cause. For what? Ideas so old there’s actual dust on them, ideas that so few people hold on to so they are by themselves. It’s an uphill battle with rusty outdated weapons and yet still they persist.”

“Stubborn old wolves,” Rin sighed.

“Change is unstoppable and constantly moving forward force. You either accept it and move with it or step out of the way and get lost in the past,” Atsuko grumbled. “And they gladly stepped out of the way and become irrelevant if it meant that they could cling to their ‘golden’ pasts. But what gold is really fool’s gold and the fool’s cling to it as though it were real, bah,” Atsuko growled, “Old fools.”

Rin just patted her wife’s arm soothingly, but the old girl had already gotten herself into a tizzy and the entire car ride they got this spiel about how every single one of those old wolves were fucking useless and really needed when to learn to shut the fuck up or step down. Jesse got to hear Atsuko get _really_ creative with insults, because some of the things she said got her poor wife’s ears burning red and Hanzo’s eyes real big. Jesse had to admit, even after knowing Genji at his worst and his sailor’s mouth way back when, Atusko was making him flustered and almost grateful when the car stopped to let them out.

“Oh, sorry dear nephew but I will be making a statement,” Atsuko said as she brazenly wriggled over them to get out before them.

“I would disappointed if you didn’t,” Hanzo deadpanned.

Jesse waited as the two ladies got out, to a barrage of flashing camera drones and wielding humans, Atsuko striking a sophisticated figure as she stood proudly for a moment to let them take their pictures… before taking the mask off of face and tossing it on the ground like garbage. When her and Rin stepped forward, her foot came down on it and shattered it. And if that was not a statement…

“I will surely hear about this,” Hanzo sighed as he held out his arm for Jesse to take.

The flashing lights really were not welcoming as Jesse stepped out and to the front of what looked like a very fancy and very well off building that was lit up like the fourth of July. Jesse’s boots hit red carpet when they stepped out, like for real a red carpet and Jesse had this moment of: _“Oh yeah, my husband is super powerful, rich and well known.”_ Because Jesse had only seen shit like this on the news for some huge thing going on in some rich part of the world. People in designer outfits, cameras and flashes going off, a building that looked like it was worth more than all the money, drugs and other valuable shit than Jesse had ever laid eyes on…

“Jesse?” Hanzo asked quietly.

“So-sorry,” Jesse muttered and followed Hanzo, making sure to follow Rin’s tips and tricks on how to move to make his person read as something else. Head up, chin out, eyes glazed over but focused, mouth firm but not sloping.

Thankfully Hanzo did not stop to talk to any of the borderline ravenous reporters that were shouting and some almost screaming shit in their ears and quickly giving McCree a sharp migraine. Most of it was blurred together, a mass blob of noise, but the few words that Jesse was able to pick out made it seem like they were asking about their marriage. Which Jesse was sure as hell glad that Hanzo was ignoring. No need to further stress the other out by trying to explain it to someone that would just twist it enough to make a paycheck.

“You know, someone will want to know the story eventually,” Rin muttered to Hanzo when the four of them stopped for group pictures.

“When I meet a journalist that is not out for blood, I will,” Hanzo gruffed out.

“...I might know one, darlin’,” Jesse suggested, grinning because he was really just joking. “Goes by the name Joel Morricone.”

“Oh! Me and Rin love his work,” Atsuko piped up.

“Always obliged to meet a fan of my work,” Jesse grinned crookedly.

“...No!”

So instead of focusing on the cameras, Jesse got to listen to Atsuko fangirl over his writing under his false name. It was always nice to meet a fan of his sideline hobby that Jesse had develop in Blackwatch. Had always wanted to make a career out of writing before… well everything went down. Who knew, maybe he could do that now, now that he was technically settled down.

The inside of the building was even more fanciful and generally…. ‘Wealthy’ than the outside. Fancy architecture as far as they eye could see, fancy imported carpet and rugs, chandeliers, fancy this, fancy that, pretty much every looked like it cost more than anything Jesse had ever laid hands on before. Jesse felt more and more like he stuck out like a sore thumb. Keenly, Jesse felt a sharp and almost painful blow to his self confidence as he just shrunk and hoped that no one talked or looked at him for the duration of the party.

“Where is the alcohol,” Atsuko said sharply, more of a command than an question.

“My dear, we just got here,” Rin pointed out.

“And I already feel like it’s been too long,” Atsuko shot back. Atsuko paused to look at her wife for a moment, lower lip dipping, before she reached out and grabbed the mask off of her face and tossed it. “Much better, a delightful and gorgeous sight.”

“Atsuko,” Rin chided, though clearly flustered.

“Two more things,” Atsuko said, turning to Hanzo, catching the back of her hand on the underside of the snout of it and sending it flying off of his head. It ruffled Hanzo’s hair and startled a few masked people when the mask landed close by them. Hanzo just huffed and sighed, choosing to frown at a grinning and far too smug to be ashamed Atsuko.

When Atsuko moved to do the same to Jesse, he quickly put his hand on the front of his mask and pressed it down against his face, staring down Atsuko who seemed very surprised. They stared each other down for a moment before she sighed and dropped her arm before bidding Hanzo ‘have fun’ and then eagerly going off to find the good booze with her wife sighing in tow. That left Jesse to let his hand drop and Hanzo to quickly finger comb his hair back proper.

“She gets more bold each year,” Hanzo grumbled before looking to Jesse. “Are you well? You seem tense.”

“Not my kinda soiree, hun,” Jesse sighed, “I’ll live, just feel… really outta place.”

“So do I, I have never felt like I belonged in these, just my family name,” Hanzo sighed, squeezing Jesse’s hand.

That was…. Infinity calming to know that Hanzo felt as about as in place as Jesse did. It was always good to know that the person that looked so calm and cool under pressure was sweating it out just like he was. But then again, even if he was one good looking man and extremely powerful, Hanzo was just like any other sentient being out there and capable of faults. And if his failing physical and mental health were anything to go by, then Hanzo definitely was capable of being flawed like everyone else, especially to matters of the mind. It would be unfair to assume otherwise.

So Jesse bumped shoulders with Hanzo and let him lead him through the party.

There were a number of people that wanted to make small talk and Jesse got to learn of the creative and uncreative ways that Hanzo avoided all of it. Whether it be pretending that someone across the room was calling for him or just out right walking by someone trying to talk to him, Hanzo avoided any attempt at small talk from everyone, humans and non-humans alike. Though there were a few people that Hanzo set his jaw into a painful clench and indulged despite everything about him looking like he was ready to flee.

There were a few non-humans that Hanzo stopped to talk some light business with. Mostly oni, ogres and a few spirits, mostly 'How are you' and 'how is business' and 'is business still good between us?'. There were a few prodding questions about Jesse's presence, but Hanzo either none too politely shot them down or diverted attention elsewhere. Again, Jesse was grateful that there was not being too many questions directed his way. Jesse really did not want too many people trying to get the nitty gritty on him and making his life or Hanzo's life a living hell. Also Jesse was already feeling hella self conscious at this place that he obviously did not belong, no need to further that.

There were a few humans that Hanzo spoke with as well, their duds and the scents on them that gave McCree a migraine telling him that they were big in the human world. Again mostly business, but they were a lot more nosey about everything and always managed to take a circle around the subject back to 'why Hanzo suddenly got married' and 'why to a werewolf' and 'who was he?' and 'who was his family' and how they kept making circles back to what they wanted to talk about was baffling. At least Jesse could give them credit for being more word sly than any of the non-humans that Hanzo had talked to before. Though it was getting obvious that they were getting on Hanzo's last goddamn nerve because he was taking to dropping conversations mid sentence and just walking away.

The first 'show' that Hanzo had briefly mentioned at one point, drew them away from small talk and to sit down at a table with the rest of the Shimada family that had showed up (Jesse once again feeling a pang as he realized that he still stuck out like a sore thumb). At the fancy table with what looked like silver and mother of pearl silverware and fine china plates, Jesse got to watch some people on this large stage in the center of the room do acrobatic feats in fancy, sparkly, skin tight outfits. Which was... nice but not really enthralling considering some of the shit that Jesse had seen, not to mention, with all the fights that he had been in chances were that he had done most of the stuff that they were doing even with his chunky ass.

There was a short intermission afterwards where drinks were dolled out. Atsuko, true to her word, asked for the hard stuff right away despite the waiters and waitresses telling her that they would not be offering that until later. Some arguing later and she was drinking this bottle of what smelled like strong as hell, aged brandy while Rin just sighed and the old wolves at the table frowned in disappointment at her. Atsuko just knocked off any mask that got close enough to talk to her.

The next show was a siren that sang this 'non-hypnotic' song but still had a few people standing up to get closer, thankfully all yanked back down to their seats. It just made McCree's ears ring painfully, the ol' tinnitus rattled as his brain filtered out the noise to keep him brain from getting foggy. Hanzo seemed bored at this point, eyes glazed over and looking a little sleepy and Jesse felt a bit like that too. Guess this was more for the humans rather then any well seasoned non-humans like Jesse. Or maybe it was just another reason that the old wolves had wanted Jesse to stay home, something thi fancy like but overall boring was wasted on someone like him.

Another intermission with some over the top fancy eats that Jesse had thought were only jokes but turned out to be very true and he ended up turning down. Thankfully most of the table ended up turning everything down, so Jesse did not seem like the sensory sensitive, poor boy turning down the fancy eats.

The next show almost made Jesse holler.

"Who's ready to win a date?" An announcer called out to the crowd.

"What?" Jesse asked, feeling a bit slow.

"The main draw of the event, for rich parties to auction off their time for an evening," Hanzo explained, squeezing Jesse's hand. "It draws the most attention for the event as well as raises most of the money."

"Did you ever...?"

"Every event, but I would always outbid everyone for myself so I never had to do anything," Hanzo sighed. "But I will not this year. Thanks to you, dear husband." Hanzo picked up Jesse's hand to kiss his rough knuckles and made Jesse blush.

Some old wolf scoffed and got their shin kicked in by Atsuko.

So Jesse got to watch all these gussied up people walk on stage, try and sell themselves and then listen to people bid on a night with them. It was almost funny, in a really weird way, but Jesse supposed that he never got people with more money than wits. Hanzo seemed immensely grateful to not have to go up on stage, instead leaning against McCree despite the soured looks aimed at them from the old wolves at the table. Jesse just squeezed Hanzo's hand back.

"Shimada-sama, our contribution this year will be immensely cut down because of this," One of the old wolves muttered closer to what Jesse hoped was the end of the date night bidding. "We will look-"

"Do you want me, a freshly married man, to go up there?" Hanzo deadpanned.

There was silence.

"I will up our usual flat donation to make up the difference," Hanzo offered.

When that was over, it seemed to be the end of the Shimada family participation as Hanzo had said earlier. Hanzo rose gracefully, an ironclad grip on Jesse's hand as Atsuko and Rin rose to join him, a few old wolves staying and a few joining them in leaving as another show started. Jesse was grateful to go, drawing in a lung full of cool night air when they finally stepped outside, clearing his nose of all the various scents that Jesse had been drowning in a moment ago. With a small groan, Jesse instead leaned into Hanzo's space and drew in a whiff of his scent instead, loving how comforting it was, how soothing. Hanzo sighed pleasantly in return.

When they got into the car, Atsuko flipped the mask off of McCree's face.

"There you are, dear nephew-in-law," Atsuko grinned.

"Sorry about that, didn't want to be trouble," McCree smiled sheepishly.

"Bah, no trouble you start can be anything like the assholes in the family start on a daily basis by just opening their mouths," Atsuko laughed. "Though perhaps they had a point about this. The place was simply abuzz with gossip about Hanzo's mystery husband."

"Oh lordy, they were talkin' about me?" McCree groaned.

"Mostly that no one knew a thing about you. You were so mysterious them, so cool," Rin filled him in, "And now people will be hounding Shimada-sama about Jesse even more, dear wife."

"From what I understand, there is a reporter that we know that can report on their marriage without bias to gossip," Atsuko pointed out, grinning pointedly at Jesse.

"Oba," Hanzo grumbled.

"What? I'm right!"

Hanzo just scoffed before laughing, grinning crookedly and making poor Jesse's very gay and very smitten heart putter and sputter away. While Atsuko and Rin hashed out the pros and cons of Jesse writing about the marriage underneath his pen name, Hanzo leaned against Jesse and rumbled pleased like from the contact. Jesse kissed his hair and leaned back against him in turn, happy as can be from the contact as well. Hanzo seemed like he was in a mighty snugly mood and Jesse was eager to indulge, especially if they were going to bed after this.

They were.

Hanzo pulled Jesse all the way to their room and started to eagerly get out of his fancy get up. Jesse made sure to slowly get out of his suit and hang it up proper, because it was a gift after all and it was only right and proper for a gift. When Jesse was down to his under things, Hanzo very eagerly tugged them into the shower.

"Someone looks like he's feelin' a mite better than this mornin'," Jesse pointed out while Hanzo tinkered with the heat of the spray before settling on something comfortable and hot.

"I do feel better," Hanzo practically purred, standing on his toes to kiss Jesse's mouth softly.

They got each other scrubbed down real good, Jesse working his fingers through Hanzo's hair like he knew his hubby liked and Hanzo's nails scraping his skin pleasantly. After they were cleaned up, Jesse and Hanzo got out to get in the bath to soak... or at least that was what Jesse thought that they were going to do. Hanzo seemed to have other plans, getting onto Jesse's leg, legs bent over Jesse's thighs as the man leaned in to mouth along Jesse's neck and jaw.

"Hun?" Jesse breathed, very much liking this.

"Are you willing to be intimate, dear husband?" Hanzo breathed against his skin.

"You... up for that?" Jesse asked before groaning when a hot tongue dragged down the length of his throat, sharp teeth dragging against the wet skin and making Jesse shudder violently.

"Very, else I would not ask," Hanzo chuckled against Jesse's skin, "Though sadly I have not had the time to get the items necessary for experimenting."

"Damn shame," Jesse moaned, tilting his throat to give Hanzo more room to lick and kiss at.

"So I guess, I shall have to ride you," Hanzo growled.

Gods damned, Jesse was very gay.

* * *

Smut Start

* * *

Hanzo mouthed and kissed at Jesse's throat, pausing to adjust his hips and press them flush against one another before rolling his hips, the water making it very smooth and a very pleasurable grind against one another. Jesse just rolled his hips up against Hanzo to press against him, make Hanzo moan and groan handsomely like Jesse knew he could. When Jesse could not take it anymore, he gently encouraged Hanzo away from his neck and kissed the handsome man, passionately, one hand cupping the back of Hanzo's neck and the other settling on one of his hips.

The kissed and ground against one another for a few moments, grunting and growling against each other's mouths. When Hanzo got too worked up to handle it anymore, he used one hand to gently taking Jesse and line him up before sink onto him. It made Jesse groan and Hanzo moan softly.

"Honeysuckle," Jesse groaned.

A tongue at his lips shut him up for a moment, eagerly parting them so he could suck on Hanzo's tongue and take the sweet breath from his mouth. Meanwhile, Hanzo rocked his hips to get Jesse further inside of him, slowly and surely sinking further and further into Jesse's lap. Two strong arms wrapped around Jesse's shoulders and neck, Hanzo awkwardly tilting himself closer without giving up what he had worked down on. Jesse moaned, kissing Hanzo sloppy as he rutted his hips up into Hanzo, trying to get further into that blissful tight heat. Hanzo's teeth bit into Jesse's lower lip, having done something right, not hard enough to break skin but deep enough that it would leave a little mark and Jesse would _feel_ it for a bit.

Hanzo bottomed out quicker than Jesse thought he could, the man apparently quite aroused, and start sloshing the bath water as he bounced to start moving. Jesse squeezed Hanzo's hips and moaned against the man's mouth, rutting up softly into Hanzo to grind and move and stir around inside of him and drawing those amazing sounds out of his husband. Hanzo's bouncing got a bit more eager, a bit faster, working up and down the length of Jesse's dick and making Jesse almost go breathless from the pleasure. Hanzo was going to be the death of him--

Hanzo parted from him, throwing back his head and moaning loudly into the bathroom air, clenching around Jesse spasmodically. Jesse groaned as he watched Hanzo cum, shuddering through the pleasure and clenching around Jesse and making it really hard not to cum himself. Just the sight of Hanzo's muscular and hair dusted chest heaving with each labored breath and muscles going into stark relief with each breath in and relaxing with each breath out. But when Hanzo had come down, Jesse was still stiff inside of him.

"You good hun?" Jesse panted.

"Mmm, again?" Hanzo panted.

"More than happy too, sugar," Jesse groaned.

They got out of the bath, letting the water drain. They got dried off real quick so that they could continue this on the bed, Hanzo jumping in first and laying out on his back, parting his legs invitingly. A small moan escaped Jesse at the sight of the man, cheeks pinked, still a bit breathless from his previous orgasm, chest and torso moving with each deep breath in and out, the slightly blood flushed folds of Hanzo's junk and the wetness that was dripping out sides the bath and quick drying off.

"God you're handsome," Jesse panted, squirming between Hanzo's thighs, hunching over the man to kiss the man's eager mouth and easily slipping inside of him. Jesse rocked his hips into Hanzo, the glide easy with how wet and aroused Hanzo was, starting up a harder and faster pace than before, one hand devoted to stroking fingers along Hanzo's little blood swollen dick, dragging along the man's folds and dragging along where he was thrusting into, feeling how wet and hot Hanzo was.

"Jesse," Hanzo panted wetly against Jesse's mouth.

A few rough and deep thrusts later and Hanzo was cumming again, howling against Jesse's mouth. When Hanzo started clenching this time around, it was enough to tip Jesse over the edge, grunting and growling against Hanzo's mouth as he thrust into the man to ride out his own orgasm and then stalling inside of him. They panted against each other's mouth for a second before Jesse pulled out and pulled Hanzo into a tight hug.

"You good, hun?" Jesse managed after a moment.

"Hmm," Hanzo rumbled, kissing Jesse's mouth softly.

They snuggled close for a moment before Jesse reluctantly pulled away to grab something to clean the both of them off. Hanzo groaned from the touch of the cool wet cloth against his junk, sighing when Jesse pulled it away to quickly clean himself off and then flopping on the man for some warm snuggling and sloppy and lethargic makeouts.

Happy, content and safe.

* * *

Smut End

* * *

"You really are a journalist?" Hanzo asked.

"Yeeep, you'd think I'd lie about that?" Jesse chuckled.

The next day, Atsuko had managed to convince Jesse to start writing up a piece about Jesse and Hanzo's marriage. While Jesse's writing persona usually tracked down things happening in New Mexico, dealings with 'Jesse McCree notorious outlaw' and the occasional dealing with rumors of Overwatch, he figured that a draft would not be too much harm.

"I--no! I... I apologize, I did not mean it like that," Hanzo said as he watched Jesse type on the borrowed laptop.

"No worries hun," Jesse smiled, kissing Hanzo's cheek. "I went through a lot to get those literature, journalism and creative and freelance writin' degrees. I like puttin' them to good use. Always wanted to write for a livin' but... you know, shit happens."

"Yet still you are a rather sought after, underground writer," Atsuko pointed out. "And might I say, reporting on yourself? Genius."

"Everyone likes followin' the dealin's of a bad boy," Jesse grinned before frowning at his work. "What do I even say..."

"Well I don't know about you, but stressing that the Shimada family is breaking away from purist ways would be a lovely thing to include. As well as changes in how we operate on a personal level. Not to mention that the old wolves are just yappy ugly old things--"

At this point, Jesse and Hanzo were wheezing.

"I'm right and that's why it's funny!" Atsuko grinned before chuckling herself.

* * *

Sombra hummed as she tapped away on her laptop. While this was something of a norm for her, most of her work being on the digital, in this instance she was up to something that was bad for her bad guy employers. Sombra was monitoring Talon and all it's evil little activities and occasionally sabotaging them. 

Right now, Sombra was monitoring the Shimada family activity to see if Moria’s creepy little experiment to turn the pack against itself was working and honestly, enjoying the fact that it was not. Just based on the raw numbers of their accounts and social media accounts focused on keeping up with the family, the Shimada family had been doing better than ever in the past month than decades before. Their clan head was actively taking a role in whipping his people into shape and slowly catching onto the almost glaringly obvious embezzlement and theft going on from within. 

This time she did not even have to step in and sabotage anything! Normally these bigger projects of the sadistic doctor had to be subtle weakened until it fell apart and then Moira could get yelled at for being too ambitious without Sombra being implemented at all. But it seemed that they were fine on their own, at least for now if Moira decided not to take an active role in fucking shit up. Then simply Sombra would take a more active role in fucking up Moira's plan.

While scrolling through media accounts, a growl behind her alerted her to her coworker having formed behind her.

“See something, reaps?” Sombra teased.

Sombra got along with Reaper in a way that no one on base could achieve. While it had worried Sombra that it would make it too obvious that she was a double agent, she had been delighted in the fact that everyone was in this mindset to never truly see or hear Reaper out of sheer fucking terror of the man. She was sure that Reaper could break out into song and dance and everyone would deny it. So she was freely able to first get friendly with the creature, then find out that he was an Eldritch Abomination that Moira had made from the former vampire Gabriel Reyes, and then try and find ways to help him out. Nothing so far but she had hope.

Reaper reached over her shoulder, using a talon tip on the touchpad to scroll back up until it came to a picture that Sombra had not paid attention too. It looked like the clan head had recently got married and to an unknown man, some fangirls weeping that Hanzo was no longer on the market and some conspiracy theorists coming up with what this man was and what he meant. The picture of Hanzo himself and his husband all dressed up but with that looked like a werewolf mask covering his face.

“What?” Sombra asked.

A voice, not a physical one but something that crawled along her skin and crept along her skull with inky black fingers, garbled something. Sombra listened, petrified for a moment, as the voice seemed to struggle for a moment, tripping over sounds that seemed alien and foreign to it, before it hissed out something that sounded like the voices of Sombra’s nightmares might have sounded like. But it was just the voice of Reaper.

_**Jesse.** _

“Jesse?” Sombra asked.

_Danger. Doctor. Unsafe. Son. Broken. Pack._

“What?”

“Sombra?!”

Reaper was gone, wraith forming away to slip through a grating unseen. Sombra looked out from her little hidey hole, a gap between the ceiling and a wall from some botched construction of the base years, and years ago, to see Moira standing down there and looking up at her.

“Hola!” She called.

“Have you seen Reaper? That thing has become quite temperamental and disobedient lately,” Moira huffed, clearly annoyed.

“No, have you checked outside? I thought you let him go out there if he wanted,” Sombra lied smoothly.

“It has no free will, it should be following me obediently,” Moira tisked before sighing irritability, “But I guess I shall check.”

When she was gone, Reaper slipped back out from the grating, manifesting beside Sombra. With a sigh, Sombra patted the man’s shoulder before cracking her knuckles and starting to dig up what she could on the Shimada clan head’s new mate since it seemed important to Reaper. This was the first time since she joined that she was seeing something akin to a personality inside the man and not just a willing pet for that anti non-human brat of a doctor. Not to mention, Sombra had a feeling that this man would probably be targeted by the evil doctor and might need some... 'outside' help if things went to shit.

Who knew? Maybe this would help this little trickster fea help take down Talon for good instead of waiting for it to die from bug bites.

“You’re very lucky that I’ve got runes in my skin that hide my scent or we’d both be fucked, reaps,” Sombra smirked as the first wave of news articles came up. “But also lucky for you, I’m badass and can pull this off. Now… where to start... where to start..."

It took only a little digging to turn up the man's legal name: Jesse McCree. Werewolf. A bit more digging from there turned up very old Blackwatch documents buried in the bones of the internet. Same Jesse McCree. Which meant that Jesse and Gabriel probably interacted at one point, enough at least that Gabriel would be able to point him out from just little traces of the man at least. Some more digging also turned up some recent underground chatter about monster hunters and bounty hunters that were pissed that someone had paid off his bounty and that he was currently nesting with Okami and pretty much untouchable.

"Hmm..." Sombra hummed.

Some very hard digging and some connecting of the dots soon turned up that Jesse made contact with some of the newly reformed Overwatch members.

"Jackpot," Sombra grinned.

Now that she knew Overwatch was involved with this, Sombra knew that this was the moment that she had been waiting years for. The event that she could use to shatter Talon, raise up Overwatch, get Reaper into capable hands and pretty much get everything done that she had wanted done for years.

"Don't worry, reaps, we'll make sure that Jesse is safe," Sombra said before pulling up a familiar contact name, making sure that Reaper could not see it.

[Connecting...]  
[Connecting...]  
[Connecting...]  
[Contact Made]

[Hacker5Lyfe: Hola! I think we got the perfect thing to get shit moving pops <3]  
[Soldier 76: Lets hear it then]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: We’re gonna use Jesse.]  
[Soldier 76: I cant do that to Jess, hes been through too much and hes just getting comfortable]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: That may be so, but we can save the Shimadas, Gabe and fuck over Talon and help Overwatch]  
[Soldier 76: I dont know Sombra]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: I’ll keep him out of it as much as possible, but this is the best chance we’re going to get, pops]  
[Soldier 76: …]  
[Soldier 76: Lets hear it then]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: Here’s what we gotta do~]


	10. Worry Warts Not Treated By Certain Doctors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Depictions of violence and gore, language, mentioned torture and abuse, mentions to vomiting, physical illness
> 
> Worry worry worry not, the bad doctor is here to not help

Jesse was fighting before he was conscious.

Actually, back up. Jesse was having nightmares before the assassin tried their, likely to fail, attempt on Hanzo and his life that lead to said fighting before he was technically awake. Raw and unfiltered instincts winning

Some pretty bad and vivid nightmares. Micro nightmares actually, vivid memories painted over with the fucked up way brains processed lingering information brush a few times over until all that was left was a macabre surreal horror fest that Jesse had to run through like a film festival. Flashbacks ran one after another until they were blurbs with hiccups of darkness as his brain ripped the finished horror and slid in a fresh new one to torment his mind with.

Fighting off other werewolves as a pup. Freshly kicked out of his pack and family home and a child and fighting off werewolves bigger, faster, meaner and stronger than him trying to kill him for being on their turf. Always won in the end, regeneration won out over everything, even someone bigger, meaner, faster and stronger than him. But, Jesse was a child and fighting for his life against creatures that were territorial and willing to fucking murder him and it never felt like victories, just more bullshit.

Tangling with witches and other magic users for Deadlock’s illegal reagent trades. People that whispered things that made the plants around them die and the air go so cold that frost formed even on hot blooded werewolves. People that did things that still fucked with Jesse’s to this day.

Fighting dark and shapeless gods in the middle of desert storms. Jesse would later find out that they were gods and other dark things that had no names. Deadlock picked a fight with a few, the brassiness enough to give them some street cred with other non-human gangs. But sometimes if you kicked the hornet’s nest, the little bastards came rushing out and ready to fucking sting. They always came with storms and Jesse’s regeneration would be the only thing that saved him, often waking up in a gory mess in the desert sand and his mind unable to comprehend what he had just done.

The fight with Overwatch when they had come crashing down on Deadlock. Jesse had transformed the second the alarm had gone off and had faced Overwatch as his big, furry self. Jesse had been thrown this way and that and shot full of holes by Morrison. Picked up and carried into the air only to be dropped, shredded and stabbed through several times by Amari and her beak and claws, her piercing shriek making the old tinnitus rattle in his ears to this day. Then the fight with Reyes. Old vampire had done everything he could to kill him, thinking he was taking on an adult werewolf and not a pup with overpowered regeneration skills. But McCree was a stubborn bastard that way. That fight McCree had endured a lot and thought that perhaps his regeneration had been pushed too far. But it is what gave Blackwatch pause, especially when three adult agents just realized what hell they had put a kid through, and been one of the things that had saved him from life in a non-human slammer.

Fighting banshees while his ears spurted blood, the bones had shattered and then his eyes exploded in his skull. Reyes had been there, watched this happen to him even as his own ears had sputtered blood. Jesse had loudly sworn, for it being one of his newer missions, that his career with Blackwatch was going to be a long, painful and bloody one. Reyes, with blood gushing down the sides of his own head, had laughed.

That one sea fight against a pissed off kraken, on an overseas mission. One of its tentacles had wrapped around Jesse and snapped his spine into splinters and crushed his internal organs into past. Vomited blood for hours after that fight.

Fighting off Omnics and golems controlled by various bad guys, waves and waves of bots to take down with his gun and then resorting to his transformed state when bullets ran dry like the oil on his skin. Jesse chewed up a lot of bots, swore that his fangs would break but his regeneration never knew when to quit until it came to shit like his arm.

The Venice incident and that was enough said.

Doing illegal and unsanctioned recon in London and fighting off more Omnics more than twice his size. Got stepped one more than once and more than once he had bounced up and proceeded to tear through the bastards like a hot knife through soft butter.

Getting his arm chopped off by Deadlock after leaving Blackwatch. The bastards had hunted him for weeks, wearing him down until his regeneration could do nothing against the sheer exhaustion. The axe chopping and chopping away until his biology decided to say ‘fuck it’ and just stopped growing his arm back.

It was until his nightmare switched to something new but unfamiliar, did Jesse’s mind snap out of it.

A memory of a dark alley, with an aged wolf with gold markings on her face, staring him down. She promised salvation, of himself, of a broken wolf, of a scarred wolf, of two old men, of a fea neck deep in enemies. Freedom from old wounds, freedom from monsters and those that called themselves monsters. If he only followed her down a path of misery and woe. And which he did eagerly--

And it was here that Jesse woke up.

Jesse’s hand batted away the person slashed at him, eyes snapping open and mind focusing in as everything kicked in so hard his teeth felt rattled. Even as Jesse stared down the cloaked, masked and covered figure before him, clutching their likely broken arm, his mind started alerting him to everything around him.

Hanzo was across the room, looking like he had gotten tossed ass over tea kettles, dazed and confused and hair a mess as he tried to right himself. The right side of Jesse’s mouth and right cheek had been torn open, flesh burning as it tried to burn out what must have been poison as the flesh tried to knit itself back together. Half way transformed, fur and hair in various places over his body, talons fully extended, ears out and pointed towards the assassin. Heart was hammering away, blood on his teeth and tongue, fight response triggered and flooding Jesse’s mind.

The assassin backhanded their blade in their good hand, staring down Jesse with fire and intent--

Only for a blast to knock them into the wall. It appeared Hanzo had gotten his bearings, the air thick with the sudden burst of raw magic, electricity on Jesse’s tongue and making his teeth tingle. Jesse relaxed as Hanzo slowly approached with his hand spread out towards the fallen assassin, magic crackling along his summoning marks as they glowed with a bright golden light like the sunrise.

“Sloppy,” Hanzo said before blasting them out of existence.

 _Danger’s gone ol’ boy, time to relax_ , Jesse thought to himself as he stood there panting.

“I was not even aware to their presence until you pushed me out of the way, Jesse,” Hanzo said as he carefully approached Jesse. Jesse hate that, that Hanzo had to cautious around him. Letting his shoulder relax and standing to his full height instead of being crouched down and ready to lunge, Jesse ducked his head and whined plaintively at his husband. Hanzo gently cupped Jesse’s face and encouraged it down so that he could get a better look. The open wound burned less but still felt raw and open, no blood so the veins were already healing. “This poison was potent, far more potent than what you ingested before. But again your regeneration knows no bounds, dear husband.”

“We heard a commotion!”

Hanzo’s frazzled aunts burst into the doors, looking like they were still dressed in their sleepwear for the evening. Atsuko's dark hair was a mess and Rin still had a sleeping mask pushed up to her forehead. They both looked at Jesse, still pushing down his partial transformation and his still healing face to the dark and smoky smudge where the assassin had once been.

“An assassin, nothing more,” Hanzo said to sooth his aunts. “Jesse took the brunt of it.”

“Is Jesse okay?”

“Are you okay, Hanzo?

“Fime,” Jesse managed, words obscured by the fact that his lips were still not fully healed. Fangs were still clicking together, sharp and lethal and ready to rip and shred despite there being no danger.

“Gods, the house hasn’t been this lively in years,” Rin sighed as she came into the room to start fretting over Jesse, dabbing at the wound gently though it still stung. When he hissed and pulled away, she instead did something that made her fingers feel warm and gently tapped along the wound. It stung for half a second before his face started feeling very warm and numb.

“You would think that it would fall out of fashion, but I guess old assholes can’t move on,” Atsuko sighed.

“Just be thankful that Jesse’s regeneration looks like it’s won out over what has caused this damage,” Rin said as she pulled her fingers away and poked at the freshly healed flesh, which was still very tender and sore.

“Ow,” Jesse whined.

“Sorry, dear, but it’s mostly healed now,” Rin muttered as she gently turned his head this way and that to look over the skin. “But you two should rest for now…”

With nothing more to do, after getting two staff members to quickly clean the spot where a creature once stood, they went back to bed. Hanzo curled up against Jesse’s back, nuzzling into the back of Jesse’s neck comfortingly as those strong arms wrapped around Jesse’s torso and held him close. 

“...Are you alright, Jesse?” Hanzo asked against the back of Jesse’s neck.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jesse muttered. The strong arms around him squeezed comfortingly and Jesse butted back to get closer to Hanzo. Hanzo obliged by scooting closer. Jesse cleared his throat. “Was havin’... was havin’ some nasty nightmares before I woke up.”

“Nightmares?” Hanzo asked softly.

“Yeah… about shit that’s happened to me,” Jesse muttered.

“... Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Just… let’s stay like this for the night, huh hun?”

Hanzo’s lips were at the back of his neck, peppering the skin softly until Hanzo seemingly dozed off, lips still against the back of McCree’s neck.

It took a few hours of listening to the even breaths of the strong lungs to his back, feeling them enter and leave with the mouth at the back of his neck. Of listening to the quiet sounds of the house. Of listening to the sound of his own breath in his lungs as he waited for the buzz to burn through his blood and vanish. Even then, Jesse laced his fingers through Hanzo’s and wondered how a man could just shrug off an assassination attempt in their own damned home so easily. Huffing quietly, Jesse dragged Hanzo’s hand up to his mouth to kiss the rough knuckles.

It reminded him briefly of Jack and Gabe. How they had done that when they thought no one was looking. Brief kisses along the knuckles. Scarred and rough lips against even rougher and more scarred knuckles. Brief moments of quick affection in the face of war and hell.

Jesse hoped that he was not facing war and hell.

* * *

Unfortunately, Jesse was.

Hanzo was sick in the morning, lurching out of bed and rushing to the bathroom, Jesse finding the man heaving up his guts into the shitter. The smell had the ting of barely digested meat stench to it and Jesse sprinted across the house to grab Yuu and drag the still half asleep man to their room. Yuu sluggishly examined Hanzo, looking him over before taking a swab out of his pocket (Jesse not sure if Yuu carried those around on him all the time) and swabbed Hanzo’s mouth before advising a late start to the morning, water, and laying down before Yuu sleepily went back to his room.

Hanzo was too dizzy and nauseous to really complain or argue, past a few irritable grumbles as Jesse carefully hauled him back to bed and tucked him back in.

“I’m fine,” Hanzo slurred out once he was flat.

“Hun, you’re not, you’re really not,” Jesse sighed, petting Hanzo’s belly through the blanket.

Hanzo huffed indignantly, pouting almost cutely when Jesse bent down to kiss his clammy forehead sweetly. Hanzo took water like Yuu advised and remained laying down until the symptoms passed enough for the man to get back to work and Jesse could not keep him in bed anymore.

Hanzo continued to not get better. 

Most mornings, Hanzo woke up to puke and was usually too nauseous to do much standing on his own. Jesse was of course willing to help, but a deep seated panic was slowly taking over. 

Deep and dark nagging thoughts about losing a packmate and someone that he was getting very deeply attached too was dredging up the phantom pains in his chest that his Broken Pack Syndrome had given him. Instincts were telling him that his pack was breaking, that it was time to flee before he got hurt again. Everything in Jesse knew this all too well, the keystone to a pack dying off always meant the pack breaking up and Jesse was sure that he would be kicked out if Hanzo perished tragically and… oh god Hanzo was dying. Hanzo was dying and there was nothing that Jesse could do about just like--

…

…

Just like Gabe. Just like Jack.

“I know, Jesse-sama,” Yuu told him one day when he went to visit the man. For himself, and not just Hanzo, because all this worry was making him lose sleep, lose appetite and everything was in a fog as he just retreated into his own head to work over these trouble thoughts. “I want to find out what is wrong with him too… I was unable to save the clan head and while I never lost sleep over that… losing Hanzo would be…”

“Devastatin’,” Jesse mumbled.

“Exactly,” Yuu sighed. “But I can’t find anything Jesse. My scans pick up nothing. Medicines don’t work for long. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. I can’t find anything wrong with him other than he’s stressed far too much for his health. I’m sorry honored mate but… I have nothing.”

Jesse was feeling a lot like a useless pup again.

* * *

[Connecting…]  
[Connecting…]  
[Connecting…]  
[Connecting…]

“Come on you stupid piece of shit.”

[Connecting…]  
[Connecting....]  
[Connected.]

[Hacker5Lyfe: Hey pops, heads up, the royal medical villain is heading your way]  
[Soldier 76: Shit whats her plan]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: She’s doing something to Hanzo. Just based on your report and how sick he sounds, she’s probably checking on on how that’s going. You gotta help Jesse figure it out]

Sombra paused to glare at Moira, currently stocking her plane, from her hiding spot while keeping herself cloaked with her invisibility magic. Reaper was standing by her side, head lowered like a kicked dog and it stroked the flames in Sombra’s belly to see Moira burn. Gritting her teeth, she reminded herself to stick to the plan. Soon. Soon. There was a crack in Talon and she was bleeding the bastards dry, but it had to be a slow bleed or they could staunch it. Soon.

[Soldier 76: No one can figure it out]  
[Soldier 76: Okami use magic to heal things and their physical prowess means that they can heal anything physically wrong]  
[Soldier 76: So whats not magical and whats not physical]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: God magic probably but you said you could tell that kind of stuff right?]  
[Soldier 76: Yeah but Hanzos a god so he should shrug off god magic too]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: You’re only other possible solution is old magic then. Shit ‘before the before’ and all that. And that stuff is pretty unfuckingdetectable.]  
[Soldier 76: Not necessarily]  
[Soldier 76: Jesse comes from old magic line, people that were magic before the before]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: Okay so we need Jesse to sniff it out? Feel it out? …. How can he do that? Magic isn’t something that non-magical folk can interact with. It’s on it’s own plane and everything and they can’t access it/]  
[Soldier 76: No other choice Sombra]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: Shit you’re right]  
[Soldier 76: How is he]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: Broken. But since finding out about Jesse he seems…. Different? Not like he’s recovering but he’s suddenly found a few lost pieces.]  
[Soldier 76: I have to go]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: Don’t worry pops, I’ll bring Gabe back to you. Just need patience. Can’t rush this shit.]

Sombra sighed before closing the connection. It always sucked telling Jack about Gabe’s state because it never changed. Broken. Mindless. Still Moira’s science project. And sure, now Gabe was clutching to pieces of things from memories because he saw Jesse’s picture again, but he was still mindless, still obedient, still Moira’s fucking science project and it obviously hurt Jack. And sure, Jack was not _exactly_ her friend but it still hurt to see a man get told this shit about his husband and knowing that he was suffering. But… baby steps. People would suffer for this sooner rather than later. Patience.

“Hey Moira, going out to poke and prod?” Sombra said casually.

“Ah, Sombra, yes I am,” Moira smiled at her, all teeth like a rabid dog or a nightmare creature. “Right now I have something going on with our dear Hanzo. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to truly harm gods like the Okami and I think I have it. I took inspiration from the death of the previous clan head.”

“Wait, I thought you did that?” Sombra asked.

“Me? Oh no, though I will admit to not helping in the progression,” Moria said, putting a hand to her chest as though feigned shock, the diseased hand that made Sombra’s stomach roll. “I am still not quite sure what caused Sojiro’s death but the assassin used something most foul and most abstract to kill him. Slowly, painfully. They wanted him to suffer and now I take inspiration from them to break Hanzo. Though I have to be careful. It killed Sojiro and I don’t want to kill Hanzo, though I shan’t weep if he does. I just want a broken god at my disposal.”

Sombra felt hate, sharp black and deadly, build in her stomach at the thought of this human fucking purist talking about another non-human like this. But she was neck deep in enemies. Could not expose herself to these lot.

“Huh. Well good luck, heard Hanzo got married recently and he’s a werewolf,” Sombra said, hiding her rising anger and disgust fucking beautifully. “He might sniff you out.”

“Ah, werewolves,” Moira said with clear disgust. “Some are poor lost souls and the rest flea-bitten mutts that ‘accepted’ their curse with open arms. We shall see when I meet him, his file was lackluster other then he’s missing an arm that has not grown back. Perhaps I will have yet another pawn for our organization, my dear?”

 _Yeah fucking right,_ Sombra thought, _Just looking over the deepweb, Jesse won’t break. He just might break you though._

“Might be interesting to see a werewolf worth its salt,” Sombra said.

“Right? Now I must be off my dear, work to do,” Moira smiled. “Coming Reaper?”

Moira stepped onto her plane with Reaper trailing behind her. Sombra just waved them off, wondering if the warning was enough to let 76 warn Jesse before shit happened. With their past, Moira was certain to start shit.

* * *

“Come on, give me your all!”

To deal with the frustration and building anxiety of all this shit going down all around him, Jesse had taken to poking around the house for something to get some of this excess energy out and he had found a slightly dusty and empty room with decent enough flooring. After cleaning it out, Jesse had taken to sparring with Genji to try and get some of the energy out of him. Atsuko had found them however and had apparently wanted in on the fun. Now Jesse was getting his ass handed to him while Genji looked on with an obvious air of mirth and 76 just casually watching the spectacle.

“You gotta give a man a half chance to catch his breath, ma’am,” Jesse panted out.

“Not everyone will give you half a chance,” Atsuko grinned, eyes blown wide. The frightening woman’s aura was leeching out and Jesse was finding that the sweat that dripped down his body often cooled and dried before it got far down.

“But surely you can, ma’am,” Jesse wheezed.

Atsuko smirked… and then disappeared. Jesse managed to raise his arm in time to catch her hand before it could strike, though it ended up striking his forearm with enough impact to sting like a bitch. In a futile attempt to one up her, Jesse made a grab for her wrist only for her other hand to lash out quicker than Jesse could possibly comprehend or hope too and then tossed him across the room. Jesse hit the floor, skipped, and then slammed into the wall.

“Shimada Atusko-san, may I suggest not harming Jesse any further, especially with the plans for tonight?” Genji suggested softly.

“What’s… oh shit,” Atusko muttered before rushing over to Jesse, who had just sort of accepted his predicament. “Jesse, are you alright?”

“Hurt,” Jesse gruffed out.

“Crap…” Atsuko sighed as she helped manhandle him into the right position.

“What’s happenin’ tonight?” Jesse managed once the world was right side up.

“Tonight there’s supposed to be a dinner to show you off for some of the other family members that are out of town,” Atsuko explained as she fixed what she could, frowning at the bruises that were finally fully forming before tingling as they started to heal.

“...ugh,” Jesse groaned.

“Same,” Atsuko sighed and then grinning crookedly at Jesse. “At least we dine with our mates for a few hours… surrounded by strangers that just want your husband’s money and attention.”

They groaned together, apparently on the same wavelength before cracking into a rough peal of laughter together, laughing at their own silliness. Mrs. Atsuko had a good laugh, rough, loud, deep in her chest, warm and welcoming. Jesse’s base biology hummed with low thrumming and warm joy from having a happy packmate so close, even if she had just spent an hour kicking his ass. Jesse honestly wondered how he thought she could have been ‘cold’ when they first met.

“Ah, I don’t care what those squabbling greedy pups thought of you, McCree-san, I certainly like you and think you’re a wonderful addition to this family,” Mrs. Atsuko smiled warmly. “Mm, I can’t wait to show you off to those old wolves, personally. Rub their noses in it.”

“You’re just a little spiteful, aren’t ya?” Jesse laughed.

“Only a little when it comes to those defanged assholes,” Mrs. Atsuko barked with laughter before standing and stretching until her joints popped loudly. “Mmm, now, I suppose that we should get ready. You know Rin’s tips for making yourself presentable?”

“Tame the scruffy, no cowboy bits.”

“Excellent, let us go get dressed then,” Mrs. Atsuko said before inclining her head to Genji. “I suspect that both you and your coworker will be asked to go. Do you both have a good suit?”

“Yes, Shimada-san,” Genji said.

“Perfect, I shall see you at dinner then, gentlemen,” Mrs. Atsuko smiled before sweeping out of the room.

“...You don’t wanna go either, do you?” Jesse snorted.

“Not for one damned second, those guys were assholes when I was a kid and I bet time has only fine tuned that,” Genji groaned, “But what can we do?”

“Play sick?” Jesse suggested with a chuckle.

* * *

It was rare for Jesse to see Hanzo before bedtime now a days. Even with Hanzo’s stomach not agreeing with him most days, the man toughed it out like a stubborn bastard and got himself up before Jesse could get up (likely to avoid fretting and Jesse tempting him back to bed) and went to work. More often than naught, their time together was spent at time with Hanzo wrapped around Jesse’s back, hugging him tightly like he was going to disappear and snoring into his shoulder blades. Not a bad way to spend time with the hubby, mind you, but Jesse liked Hanzo conscious and speaking too.

To his surprise, Genji was joining them for the evening. Apparently Rin did not feel like risking anything and wanted to have an extra person just in case. Somehow, the clever man had found himself being that extra person. Jesse was not sure what silver tongue that Genji really had when he was not being a goof to convince Rin to pick him or just what all he was doing when Jesse was not looking.

To see Hanzo gussied up for dinner for the fews hours till bedtime was a real treat for Jesse; After he himself had cleaned himself up as best he could and then Mrs. Rin adjusted to perfection. Jesse made sure to kiss Hanzo’s handsome face when the man came out to the car that would take the two of them, Genji and 76 and Mrs. Rin and Mrs. Atsuko to dinner. Mrs. Rin and Mrs. Atsuko giggled politely behind their hands as Hanzo seemed to melt against Jesse with the kisses, rumbling in his chest from the attention, not that Jesse minded, just happy to see Hanzo in the waking hours.

“Nice to see you darlin’,” Jese sighed happily.

“And I with you,” Hanzo rumbled.

As much as Jesse wanted to kiss Hanzo’s handsome face, he realized with a chill that Genji was watching and that there was a dinner they had to attend. The dinner, not important, Genji’s feelings on the matter? Very important and Jesse was not sure how Genji felt seeing his best friend macking on the brother that scarred him both mentally and physically. While Jesse eased off, he glanced over to Genji to see what his posture said only to see Genji speaking in low voices with Mrs. Rin about something. Casually leaning his temporary sword, his other would be identified right away, but Genji appeared relaxed and at ease. Hopefully, Jesse could keep it that way.

Now that Hanzo had joined them, it was time to head out, Jesse humorously noting that no one seemed eager to go, so at least he was not alone in dreading the evening. Oh well, they could all suffer together and it was together they climbed into the car and once they were all buckled in, the driver started off, smoothing taking off and pulling out of the gates. 

Since it was dark, Jesse looked outside and happened to see the gargoyles that were inactive the last two times that he had entered the Shimada grounds. Sure enough, sitting perched above the gates and before they could disappear underneath a glamour shield were two dragon shaped gargoyles coiled together above the gate. Stone eyes watched the car passively leave before the glamour settled in and they went back to statues above the gate as the glamour shield took affect.

During the ride, Mrs. Rin and Hanzo spoke quietly of work, speaking in low voices that Jesse could only pick a few words out of. Something about numbers and such and something about them not matching up. Genji politely kept his head down as 76 looked out a window, Jesse hoped that Genji caught what they were saying because his still budding scraps of knowledge of the language sure was not helping him eavesdrop. Oh well. Genji could tell him later if it was important.

Part way into the trip over, Hanzo paused and muttered something darkly to Mrs. Rin that made Mrs. Atsuko perk up and join the conversation, again speaking in low and quick tones. After a moment, Mrs. Atusko gave a small sympathetic chuckle and what sounded like an assurance 'that it was normal' before Hanzo and Mrs. Rin went back to business. When Jesse gave Mrs. Atsuko a quirked eyebrow and a questioning glance, she merely shrugged and mouthed 'nothing' before playfully taking her wife's phone out of her pocket and playing around with it. Well shit, there went Jesse's nerves for the night.

When they arrived at their destination, they exited in pairs, Mrs. Rin and Mrs. Atsuko arm in arm and Hanzo and Jesse doing the same with Genji and 76 taking up the rear. When Jesse looked over the building, it looked higher scale but basic and minimalist, but also looked more like a club than a restaurant. There was a line out one of the side doors filled with people in clubbing outfits and a deep thrum of noise that seemed to come from deep within the building. Jesse pondered it for a moment as Mrs. Rin lead all six of them towards the side door where the line was slowly growing and wrapping around the side of the building and onto the next. There was a bouncer at the only visible door. A big non-human with a thick glamour and heavy scent blockers laid on so thick that Jesse had to fight with his stomach for a moment to keep it down from the practical punch to the nose that they were. Mrs. Rin spoke for a moment before letting her aura ripple for a moment. The bouncer just nodded before letting them in, a few people in line yelling at them only for the bouncer to snap at them to shut the fuck up in English. Jesse kept his head down and squeezed Hanzo's hand in his as they slipped inside.

Jesse seemed to be right about them being in a nightclub. They entered a hallway with almost black-red velvet coverings and a floor that shook underneath their feet with the power of the music blasting within, all the way to the end that led to another door and two more bouncers. They only nodded once upon seeing them before throwing open the door and letting the music practically punch their eardrums as they slipped into a crowd of people dancing underneath harsh blue lights and music blaring so loud that it was became noise and vibrations against every inch of being. Jesse whined instinctively from the sensory blasts, hyper keen werewolves sense not liking it one bit. But Hanzo squeezed his hand and brought him back out of the almost panic before tugging him after Mrs. Rin as she found a wall and clung to the thin space that it provided, leading them through a throng of people of a million scents, sounds and vibrations. Jesse ended up breathing out of his mouth because breathing in through his nose made one too many scents assault him at once. And if he took in too big a lung full of human and non-human sweat, half a hundred liquor stenches and then whatever the hell hung lower in the air that he could not identify, Jesse felt like he would have dropped.

Mrs. Rin quickly lead them to the back most wall and towards the the bar where half a dozen bartenders were tossing up drinks with high speed and precision. Boldly she slipped behind the counter and slipped into the doors marked 'Platinum Patrons/Employees Only' doors. Once they were inside the mass of sensations were muted and made bearable, Jesse able to breath in through his nose and not wanting to immediately retch. 

Behind the door, there were a few people milling about in a hallway that looked like mostly bathroom and kitchen and utility doors, a few people smoking and chatting idly. Mrs. Rin lead their group further, down to the furthest most door marked 'Patrons Only' and ushered them inside and let the door and even more of the assaulting sensations be shut behind them.

Inside this last door it looked like a much quieter and higher end bar, done up to be artsy and minimalist like the exterior with weird looking sculptures and art hanging off the walls. There were a couple dozen expensively dressed and sparkling gem decked humans and non-humans milling about, listening to some quieter and tamer club music. Mrs. Rin lead them through the crowd, smiling as they threw them cold and what looked like... 'jealous' looks at them. It took Jesse a moment to remember that the Shimada family was considered lower tier royalty in Japan, and well known for royalty at that. That meant that he was… Jesse suddenly did not want to think about that bag of wet cats.

Cutting them through the thinner crowd, Mrs. Rin cut them back through another door behind this next bar counter. Behind this one was a pitch black hallway that lead up a staircase to yet another door, one that the smell of old Okami let leech through. When the door opened, Jesse really smelled the Okami aroma of fur and magic, seeing about eight people milling about a black polished stone table. When they entered, all those gold wolf eyes turned towards them.

Mrs. Rin said something formal, giving a short bow before gesturing to Hanzo and himself.

" _Welcome honored family, the clan head and his new husband have arrived._ "

Show time, Jesse figured. When Hanzo gave a very short bow, Jesse made sure to go lower, not wanting to make Hanzo look bad and he guessed himself. The people gathered gave their rounds of greetings, muttering low among themselves as Hanzo tugged Jesse further inside. 76 remained in the room, meant to stand in front of the door while Genji was to remain outside the door, shooting Jesse a 'peace' sign before slipping out to his post. Swallowing thickly and fighting down nerves about being around all these powerful non-humans, Jesse squeezed Hanzo's hand as his husband went about mingling.

From what Jesse could tell, most of the Okami could not or refused to speak anything other than their native tongues. Hanzo had to act as translator between Jesse and anyone that wanted to talk to him. While Jesse could understand a good deal of the language by ear, he was still really rough on speaking it. From what Jesse did know, he gathered that they had a lot of prying questions about him, since it had been common knowledge for a number of years that Hanzo’s father had not wanted to marry his eldest son off and Hanzo had not been interested in the least bit. Most sneered at Jesse being a werewolf and in fact, not some not white furred Okami or some other ‘higher’ tier wolf like they had hoped. It appeared that scuttle bug had lead to some dirty rumors start that Jesse was just a brown furred Okami. Now there were a lot of disappointed family members that had scathing words that had Hanzo speaking just as harshly and scathingly back before giving Jesse a very twisted and lightened up translation of what shit they said. Jesse felt his gut twist hard at the thought that things were already going down hill but kept his chin up for Hanzo, did not want to add 'quitter' to the plethora of 'mongrel' and 'mutt' being thrown at him.

However, despite the acidic tone, it appeared that with Mrs. Atsuko and Mrs. Rin speaking to different groups that the tone very gradually turned slightly towards Jesse's favor. Knowledge of how quickly Jesse had transformed slowly leaked into the room, as well as his fake arm and how it could transform to meet his werewolf form. It seemed that being able to change in under a minute was not something that any Okami could accomplish nor would they for a larger number of years and prosthetics that could change shapes with users were a very, very, very rare feat that few could make or even use. Of how he was sparring with Mrs. Atsuko and how she was praising his ability to adapt and was getting better. Mrs. Rin had a number of good things to say about his pleasant and non-greedy personality that had more than a few people grudgingly giving him a chance, since it seemed that greed was a rather pronounced problem among their older generations that was causing mass problems with their new and newer generations. 

When they actually sat down to eat as the servers slipped into the room followed by Genji, a few people were not glaring so harshly at Jesse. Though a few stubborn old assholes were still glaring at him as he sat down next to Hanzo.

When everyone was sat down and served, people continued to chat idly. More than a few times Jesse caught someone looking at him and hissing out 'mutt' or 'dog'. While Jesse liked to think of himself as penitent man, these people were testing him with the ugly words. If there was one thing that pissed off werewolves more than anything, it was being compared to common domesticated mutts and dogs that humans kept. But Jesse kept his tongue, just smiled when he was gestured too and sometimes gave Hanzo's hand a squeeze to keep himself from brandishing talons or teeth.

When sake was passed around, Jesse let himself indulge with a small glass even as Hanzo passed it up before passing to Mrs. Atsuko to pour a glass and then let Mrs. Rin pour her a large glass, Jesse had to admit that he had to bite back giggles as someone muttered 'goddamn lesbians' and Mrs. Atsuko just shrugged and chugged like a champ.

At some point, a surly old man next to Hanzo snipped something while looking at Jesse about 'the flea bitten mutt' and school. Hanzo just as scathingly snapped something back before letting his aura ripple threateningly and then turning to Jesse with a much softer expression.

"Jesse, did you attend college?" Hanzo sighed, tired.

"Yes, Masters in creative and freelance writing," Jesse replied with a charismatic smile, feeling anger rise sharply at the man that just honestly compared him to a 'flea bitten mutt' but not wanting to lose his cool. Assholes like this would just use a temperament snap to use against himself or even worse, Hanzo.

When Hanzo relayed this, the man snipped about 'dumb mongrel' and Jesse's temper snapped like an overstretched rubber band.

"Can you kindly stop callin' me a mongrel or a mutt or callin’ me flea ridden?" Jesse snarled out, baring fangs, "Werewolves don't like being compared to dogs, though they're a might kinder and better company than most of you."

Speechless. The entire company was struck speechless. Jesse thought for a moment that someone was going to snap and he was going to end up with an angry Okami in his face or a fist in his face and was about to apologize when Mrs. Atsuko practically screamed with laughter. Tears quickly gathered in her eyes and streaked down her cheeks as she howled and practically screamed with laughter. Even Hanzo snorted with laughter as most everyone in attendance looked shamed or stuck in a state of shock. By the door, Genji's shoulders were minutely quaking in silent laughter.

“ _You claim that he’s a dumb flea bitten mongrel and yet here he is, putting you in your places,_ ” Rin laughed. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Hanzo gave him a heart stopping smirk and Jesse figured that he had done well... he thought.

* * *

Conversation seemed focused on business and what happened between then and the family's last meeting. 

Hanzo had a number of things to say, saying things about 'new' and 'better attendance'. Most have been the heavier hand that Hanzo had recently put into his family's affairs. There were a few tentative questions about the wedding and few even more so questions about Jesse. From what Jesse understood, they referred to him as 'honored husband' or 'the American' which were leaps and bounds better than what they had been calling him a moment ago. Though a few sour looks proved that they were just afraid of another outburst and being calling out again. Not that Jesse minded, looked like he got some points snapping at them and Hanzo seemed in a minutely better mood than when they walked in.

Hanzo was telling someone about 'new business partners' when he paused and then quietly excused himself. Jesse squeezed his husband’s hand before Hanzo left, Mrs. Rin standing up to stand next to him for a moment, eyeing people that were now eyeing him bitterly.

"You have done well, McCree-san," Mrs. Rin whispered in his ear, pretending to adjust his clothes. "I am sorry that they were insulting you, but I am surprised that you so boldly lashed out at them."

"I'm fulla surprises," Jesse grinned.

"Many pleasant ones, that is for sure," Mrs. Rin smiled back, adjusting his hair for a moment before going back to sit with her wife.

When Hanzo failed to come back after ten minutes, Mrs. Rin and Mrs. Atsuko muttered darkly about it for a moment before Mrs. Atsuko stood up and declared that she would be back before going after where Hanzo had gone off. When Jesse gave 76 a look, the man shrugged minutely and shuffled on his feet awkwardly. Everyone seemed a bit awkward, everyone suddenly and keenly aware of how their clan head was suspiciously gone now. There was a certain air of mounting concern when Mrs. Atsuko was gone a full ten minutes before Mrs. Rin quietly called for Genji. Genji quickly stepped to her side and bent down so she could whisper something in where his ear was behind his mask before sending him running quickly. Mrs. Rin chewed on her lower lip as they all watched the door with growing concern and panic.

After a moment, Genji came back in and whispered something to her before standing and allowing her room to stand herself. Mrs. Rin declared something about the clan head before ushering Jesse to stand and join her as 76 and Genji stepped outside. Once the door was closed, Jesse leaned towards Mrs. Rin.

"Uh, is everythin' okay with Hanzo?" He whispered.

"At the moment, it is unknown," Mrs. Rin sighed, “Shimada-sama started feeling unwell and excused himself. He's apparently vomited a few times and now is tired and wishes to go home so we are doing just that. Besides that, he no longer wants to be at the meeting and I'm inclined to agree with him."

Now very worried, Jesse followed Mrs. Rin all the way back out the same way they came in before stepping outside into the blessed fresh air and to the waiting car. Inside said car, Hanzo and Mrs. Rin were waiting for them, Hanzo groaning as he rubbed his temples and Mrs. Atsuko said something quietly and soothingly to him. Jesse immediately pressed up against Hanzo's side and nuzzled into his hair, fretting over him and giving him reassuring contact to hopefully help make him feel minutely better. Hanzo leaned into him as the car slowly and smoothly pulled away from the club, turning to nuzzle back against him as Mrs. Atsuko and Mrs. Rin discussed something that sounded like they were trying to puzzle out what made Hanzo sick with Hanzo sometimes shooting things down.

Jesse tried to sniff out if something was wrong with Hanzo, knowing that some werewolves could smell certain illnesses and diseases, but Hanzo smelled fine and it appeared to be gathering himself and appearing better as they drove further and further away from the club. When they arrived, Hanzo seemed much better, grumbling good-naturedly about his aunts fretting over him like he was a child before waving them off and dragging Jesse off to their room rather quickly.

"You okay, darlin'?" Jesse asked when their doors had been shut.

"I am fine, now," Hanzo yawned, stretching his arms above his head before pulling at his clothing to undo the stiffening stiffness and layers of cloth.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Jesse asked, fretting again.

"Yes, Jesse," Hanzo said, turning around to pull him in for a very reassuring hug and to nuzzle at his neck that further calmed Jesse's frazzled and worried nerves. Hanzo peppered kisses along the side of his neck before impatiently tugging at his clothes. Jesse helped him undress him, Hanzo also leading them back towards the bed before tugging Jesse in just his boxers into it and cuddling up against him. Jesse nuzzled against Hanzo's hair, trying to assure himself that Hanzo was fine but still fretting. "I really am, Jesse. I am just... tired and stressed out and honestly was looking for any excuse to leave that awful dinner."

"...okay, darlin'," Jesse said, dragging Hanzo closer and hugging him. "Let me know if that changes, yeah?”

Hanzo’s declining health was going to make him lose sleep.

* * *

And if that was not bad enough, getting a literally punch to the face from a blast from his past was going to make McCree start greying at a faster rate then he already was, was far worse.

“Fucking Moira, it had to be fucking Moira,” Jesse snarled as he stared at the woman through some slats in a window. The smell had alerted Jesse to seek out the old but familiar threat, that stench of ammonia and death, unlike anything that he had ever smelled and activated his fight response in a fraction of a second.

Moira, the evil scientist to beat all evil scientists, was currently out in the courtyard speaking at length with Yuu who looked like he was about two seconds from ripping his own face off.

“I came as soon as I could,” Genji said, slipping into the room, tearing of his mask to snarl at the woman through the slats. “Fuck… I knew that this scientist that’s supposed to be looking after Hanzo’s health was supposed to be wildly unpleasant, but fucking Moira? Moira?!”

Moira, the person that all but verbally anti-human back in their Overwatch days. The person that Jesse was sure was poking and prodding Gabriel and part of the reason that Gabriel looked so much more dead then he should have towards the end. Moira that had left Blackwatch disgraced and a social and scientific outcast, swearing vengeance against all that would stand in the way of scientific progress. Moira… that Jesse was trying very hard to push down to maddening desire to rip apart into gory and unrecognizable chunks.

“Keep her away from Hanzo,” Genji snarled, still glaring at her.

“She ain’t layin’ those diseased fuckin’ hands on him,” Jesse growled before quickly leaving the room to find said man.

Rin was going to be unhappy about Jesse skipping work to hover over Hanzo until Moira left, but at this point Jesse was running on instincts that were officially too strong for even him to ignore. There was danger and Jesse was willing to fight it or put his body in the way between it and his pack. Nothing was going to pry this pack away from him, it would need to rip it from his cold dead hand. And Moira had an ass kicking coming, from Jesse for Gabe. Maybe for once in his miserable fucking life, Jesse would get lucky and get the chance to beat the ever loving shit out of her.

* * *

Jesse was… hairier and more… feral looking than Moira remembered, as she held a carefully molded smile on her face as she looked at the two men. She had intended to check on the progress of Hanzo’s disease, but the way that Jesse was hunched over Hanzo as he sat at his desk, Moira was sure that Jesse would actually bit her like a rabid dog if she got too close. A dog just like he was back then it seemed.

“Ms. Moira,” Hanzo said as Jesse nuzzled at his neck. Threatening brown eyes looked at her with barely restrained malice, violence and rage. There would be no getting close to Hanzo.

“Ah, good evening clan head,” Moira smiled. “Is this man the husband that I have been hearing so much about?”

“Yes, this is Jesse McCree,” Hanzo said, stroking Jesse’s hair fondly.

Strange, that was his real name. So Jesse was here of his own volition and not on a mission… or he was and the name was hopeful lure of information to instil trust. But just based on the sick inducing affectionate assurance contact that they were sharing, there was genuine affection between the two of them.

“Pleased to meet your acquaintance Jesse McCree, my name is Moira and I am your husband’s physician. I look after him to make sure that he does not develop anything like the honored past clan head had that took him too soon.”

Another look of pure murderous contempt.

“Has your health changed at all, clan head?” Moira smiled.

“No, Moira, I am afraid that you have nothing to do,” Hanzo sighed.

She knew better of course. If she was right, Hanzo’s stomach and other internal organs rotting and festering with malignant tumors and growths. Soon he would be unable to heal the extensive damage done to his body and he would turn to her to fix what was wrong. Once they got there… Hanzo was doomed to be her new experiment. She would make a god kneel soon enough.

“Very well, please call for me if that changes, honored clan head,” Moira smiled.

Soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER NOTES:
> 
> 1.) Jesse was in his early thirties when he was recruited into Deadlock, roughly translating to about 17 human years  
> 2.) Overwatch was not aware that Jesse was a minor due to his size and combat skill and the fact that he was transformed during their first and final fight with Deadlock  
> 3.) Moira lied to Sombra about potentially recruiting Jesse but was not lying when she said that she did not cause the harm done to Sojiro  
> 4.) Sojiro's killer is still out there


	11. What a Ride (nsfw)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GENERAL WARNING: Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada, language, blood, briefly mentioned body horror, mentioned mental health issues
> 
> SMUT WARNING: mlm smut, trans character, trans character topping, strap-on usage, fantasy strap-on (IT'S A WOLF DICK I AM NOTHING IF NOT PREDICTABLE), anal sex, Jesse rides Hanzo like a cowboy

The blood came not longer after Moira finally skipped out.

Hanzo had thrashed and jerked around and tossed and turned the previous night that it had happened. Jesse had helped soothe him during the worst of it, opting to do the holding instead of being held like they usually did, petting Hanzo’s hair and chest and belly and holding Hanzo’s wildly seeking hands when they sought him. Hanzo had chalked it up to nightmares when he finally cracked open his eyes the next morning, dragging Jesse into a long and much needed shower before groaning as he went to his work.

About noon, Jesse skipped out of his own work to check up on Hanzo, finding the man sluggish and half asleep. Chalking it up to the man having not gotten much sleep the night before, Jesse sat and chatted with and smothered his husband in gentle affection for about an hour before the cough started. It sounded wet, like Hanzo was trying to get a shit ton of phlegm out real quick. A few hard smacks to Hanzo’s back did not help and Jesse was about to suggest getting Yuu when Hanzo’s coughing managed to clear out what was bothering his breathing.

The smell of blood hit Jesse before he saw it. And to say that Jesse sent into instant panic mood was an understatement. Yuu probably did not like having Jesse kick into his office door, grabbing him, and practically carrying him across the house to Hanzo’s office, but Jesse figured the man got over it pretty quickly. Especially when the good doctor smelled and saw the blood. After some panicked examining (and some frightened yelling on everyone’s part) Yuu dragged Hanzo to his office for a quick exam with Jesse running after them.

“Damaged tissue,” Yuu concluded after several scans and some panicked waiting. “I’m not sure what’s causing it but… it’s not healing. And it’s in your lower intestines and looks like it’s crept upward to several of your organs including your stomach, which would explain your stomach issues in the past few months, and now has reached the bottom of your lungs. The bloody phlegm is probably your lung trying to clear out the blood from destroyed blood veins.”

“Why… I should be healing,” Hanzo rasped. “Why am I not healing?”

“I am not sure. I would like to take several samples to explore this, clan head,” Yuu said.

“Of… of course,” Hanzo said before turning to Jesse. “I would like to have you here, but I do not want to worry Rin. Please return to her, but do not tell her anything. I will inform her when we know more.”

“... Are you sure, honey?”

“Yes,” Hanzo stood on his tiptoes to kiss Jesse’s frowning mouth. The smell of blood caught on Jesse’s lips and made it all worse. “I will inform you when I know more, so please…”

* * *

Tissue damage… tissue damage… what could cause tissue damage that doesn’t heal...

“Hey G man?” Jesse asked while he was in 76 and Genji’s room that evening while Hanzo was still in Yu’s office. Genji was playing with cards, 76 was sleeping propped up in the corner, or at least Jesse thought he was with how slow his breathing was and how even his heart was beating.

“Yeah?” Genji said.

“You hear about your brother?” Jesse gruffed.

“Yes… I’ve contacted Dr. Ziegler in hopes that she’s heard about this and possible use my case to try and solve this,” Genji said.

“Yeah, wanted to ask you about that…” Jesse turned to look at Genji. “Your brother… how did he hurt you without you healin’?”

“Poison. There’s a type of poison that can dramatically slow our healing and I was overdosed with it. It’s why it almost killed me when I feel off that cliff after being maimed,” Genji explained, voice heavy and it made Jesse feel worse for asking a packmate about something so traumatic. Genji lifted his hand to assure him otherwise, catching the drooping of his shoulders. “But I burned through it fast enough and started healing again afterwards.”

“So what could cause healing to just… stop?” Jesse asked.

“Ah, well there are several things that can slow and even almost stop god healing like Okami,” Genji said as he shuffled his cards around before dealing himself a came. Looked like solitaire. “Several types of poison can slow our healing, but not by much. There are also magic that can slow our healing more. But this level of damage over several months and Hanzo’s body is literally failing to heal it? It would have to be either several powerful curses or old magic.”

“Old magic?” Jesse asked. His pa used to talk about something called ‘old magic’ sometimes when he told Jesse and his siblings stories about their grandpa. Fantasy like things even to the young werewolf children that they had all been sure that their dad had been making up.

“Magic before the appearance of gods,” Genji explained. “No one truly understands it, it’s... too abstract a concept to understand, or even comprehend? Those that use it are also too abstract to understand either, more concept and thought then sentient living beings. Their magic can fuck over anyone, regardless of what they are. Shapeshifters? Their bitch. Magic users? Their bitch. Low tier gods? Their bitch. Mid tier gods? Their bitch. High tier gods that are more abstract concepts and incomprehensible? Their bitch. They think it they can do it. Why they don’t make the earth a living hell of mental horror is anyone’s guess.”

“Well... shit.”

“The good thing is that we know all Old Magic users. The world likes to keep tabs on them and everyone is willing to tag them when they see them. I’ll tell Overwatch to look out of them and keep Angela posted to see if we can do anything for him.”

“...It’s killing me, Genji.”

“It’s killing Hanzo now too, Jesse.”

* * *

While Hanzo did not hack up anymore blood after the first incident, Hanzo had breathing troubles on top of everything else afterwards. There was wheezing and cough when Hanzo did anything more than sitting still. Walking around his office made him wheeze and breath hard. Coughing also became distressingly frequent. 

Jesse often got excused from work with Mrs. Rin to attend to Hanzo, just to help Hanzo around to keep the the breathing episodes down to a minimum. Yuu had several things that only worked for brief periods before the symptoms came rip roaring back with a vengeance. More than once, Jesse held Hanzo through a bad coughing fit or made him sit when the wheezing got bad.

It felt worse and worse. Jesse’s biology was revving up for the seemingly inevitable loss of another pack. The tired and practised shifts of his chemistry that had Jesse living on the knife edge of mental health. But Jesse wanted to break the tired old habits… but he had no fucking idea how too! Jesse was not a fucking healer! He had no fucking idea how creatures worked! THERE WAS NOTHING TO DO AND HE WAS GOING TO HELPLESSLY WATCH YET ANOTHER FUCKING PACK FALL APART!

...Jesse must have been a horrible son of a bitch in his past life for this kind of misery to be hitting him.

“Hey ma, do you believe in reincarnation?”

“ _That’s only for those with the systems in place,_ ” Mama McCree said on the other end of the line.

Jesse was sitting just outside of their bedroom while Hanzo actually managed to sleep, snoring loudly away in their bed.

“I know but… I’ve been thinkin’ I was a right asshole in a previous life cause… ma… my life sucks ass,” Jesse groaned.

“ _... Jesse mijo… start talking. Now._ ”

Sighing, Jesse recounted the past few events over the past few days. The wedding, the assassination attempts, the wavering mental health and now Hanzo’s wavering physical health and now Jesse’s fucked up biology was trying to fuck him over again. His ma thankfully kept quiet through his story, only making slight noises to assure Jesse that she was still listening.

“So… there’s that and… I can feel your rage through the phone, ma,” Jesse groaned.

“ _I’m not angry I’m… processing. You just threw a lot at me kid, give your old lady a minute?_ ”

“But are you angry?”

“... _No. You’ve always been one for family even if you try that lone wolf act. You’re more at home surrounded by family and loved ones and you found some. I… okay I think I know what I feel about this. I’m angry that you didn’t include me on this but only because I wanted to watch my baby get hitch and I understand why you didn’t involve your family. So… honey I don’t know how I feel, nevermind._ ”

“That’s fine… emotions are hard… but what do I do? I can’t sit helplessly by… not again…”

“ _Not much I can do for you mijo… I don’t know jack shit about wolves like the ones you’re talking about… and old magic is your dad’s field and he hasn’t touched that shit in uh... Hold on let me ask him… HEY HUBBY! How long since you practised? Uh… damn, yeah that is a long time. What? Oh Jesse is asking is all… anyway kid, I really don’t know what to do. I want to help but…_ ”

“That’s fair I just…”

“ _I know mijo, I know…_ ”

“I’ll figure somethin’ out just… I don’t want to-- JUMPIN’ MARY JOSEPH!”

“ _Jesse?!_ ”

“Sorry ma, just the hubby tryin’ to scare the livin’ daylights outta me,” Jesse wheezed as he clutched his chest, Hanzo nosed up against the back of his neck and cuddling up against his back. The warmth was welcome, but the start Hanzo could have left out.

“ _You’re scaring years off my life, kid. Be grateful I got a lot,_ ” Mama McCree laughed on the other end. “ _He still nearby?_ ”

“Yeah,” Jesse grinned deviously, before pulling the phone away from his ear and pressing it against Hanzo’s cheek. “Hey hubby bear, it’s for you.”

Hanzo was incoherent and Jesse was going to feel bad about it later, but the man took the phone and pressed it to his ear before muttering a small and tired, ‘hello?’

“ _So you’re the one fucking my son?_ ” Mama McCree said clearly on the other line.

Hanzo dropped the phone and decided that he could wait for Jesse to finish up, huffing when Jesse laughed and laughed before hiding underneath the covers. When Jesse finished up his call, he crawled into bed and wrapped himself around the huffy lump of his husband. Hanzo did not push him away, but he did relax in Jesse’s arms and fell asleep soon after.

* * *

A nightmare woke Jesse up, though he did not recall it upon waking. Just that he felt the lingering chemical rush of terror run its course before fading into the empty feeling after adrenaline wears off. The kind that makes one reluctant to rest and or relax, which was inconvenient for Jesse because when he blearily lifted his head up, he noted that the door that lead outside was still darkened with night. 

Regardless.

It was the middle of night and Jesse very much did not want to go back to sleep. Especially with Hanzo stuck in Yuu’s office lately as they tried to figure out someway to jump start Hanzo’s healing or heal some of the damage to his organs.

Huffing, Jesse wriggled back to scoot closer to Hanzo and was going to settle in to just lay and be when he felt Hanzo… well the best description of it was that Hanzo was very deadweight and limp against his back. Even in his sleep, Jesse had come to and gotten used to Hanzo being tense, rigid, even in deep sleep there was often something clenched up and ready to get up and pounce. But now Hanzo was sort of ragdolled against Jesse’s back and the two arms that had been hugging him close were… limp.

“Hanzo?” Jesse asked, hating the temor of fear in his voice.

Carefully, Jesse pulled himself away from Hanzo’s arms and looked at him. Hanzo was completely limp in bed and by the sounds of it, was barely breathing. Jesse ducked down and had to reel back because the smell on Hanzo’s breath--

Jesse had once fought Draugr with Gabriel. Ugly, twisted undead that had crawled their way out from a Nordic crypt that humans had accidently cracked open. There were so many, someone later said that it was likely a mass dump site or a mass crypt to people without family names. But there were so many and Jesse had had only so many bullets and had to get up and close to finish off the only slightly sentient zombies. The smell of their breath was really the only thing that Jesse remember vividly about it, breath pushed out of rotted lungs filled with rot and ruin and dust.

The smell of hot and fresh rot was on Hanzo’s breath.

Something was decaying inside of him.

“Hanzo?” Jesse asked loudly, ducking back down and checking him.

Hanzo’s cheeks were damp and sticky, the man was hot to the touch. When Jesse pried open an eyelid, Hanzo’s pupils barely dilated.

“Hanzo?!” Jesse called louder.

Hanzo’s eyelids dropped heavily, still completely unconscious. Jesse rolled the man onto his back, officially freaking right the fuck out. What was rotting inside of Hanzo and why was his system not purging it? Or his magic? What was going on?! WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO HIS PACK MATE?!

Jesse parted Hanzo’s clothing, to put his ear to Hanzo’s chest to listen for any discrepancies, and noticed that when the thick material of his sleeve was moved out of the way, that Hanzo’s summoning marks were glowing. Wait… wait…

The little box was sitting in Jesse’s bag in their closet still, mostly forgotten. Digging it out, Jesse cracked open the lid and revealed the summoning tokens, still sitting all pretty and untouched. Taking one up, Jesse turned towards where his husband lie dying in their bed and preyed and hoped that this lead to something…

The thin wooden disk easily snapped between his fingers.

It felt like there was a sudden burst of raw electricity in the air, something that made all the hair on Jesse’s body stand up on edge and made his tongue tingle. Raw magic. Raw magic that made the summoning marks on Hanzo’s arm glow brightly for a hot second before there were two rather large spectral wolves suddenly formed into existence in the room. Their heavy aura that rippled and wafted off of them reminded Jesse a lot of the small tastes of Hanzo’s aura that he had gotten in the past.

“I need--”

One wolf immediately turned and grabbed one of Hanzo’s sleeves and started yanking him towards the door to the garden. Jesse jumped up to save Hanzo only for the other wolf’s teeth to press into his hand. Despite Jesse knowing that these creatures were on another plane of existence, he swore that their presence was powerful enough that he could almost feel the sharp tips of fangs on his skin. But it was enough for Jesse to look at the other wolf.

It whined loudly, letting his hand go before circling the room like it was looking for something. Something in the room? Something in the room… where…

The other wolf dragged Hanzo out into the garden, pulling him against one of the trees furthest from the room, sitting by him and whining too. Pointedly. They needed to find it. Whatever it was. Jesse turned his eyes, ears and nose towards the room, breathing in and out before focusing. Anything in the slightest wrong with the room.

Nothing. But--

The wolves whined in union and Jesse made himself snap out of that train of thought. Okay. Ears and nose failed him. Time to do things the old fashioned way. Eyes and hands. So with the wolf aiding him, Jesse turned the room upside down. Everything got pulled out, everything got tossed, the walls were felt for secret compartments, clothes’ pockets were checked for. Everything was checked, everything. Jesse even tossed the bed--

Jesse’s nails caught on the floor underneath the bed. After some feeling and then some prying, Jesse found an almost perfectly hidden panel in the floor right underneath their bed. Jesse yanked it open and the wolf snarled loudly as the smell of rot filled the room. When Jesse dared look inside it looked like a mess of rotten plants, hair and other things. When Jesse dipped his hands inside, the sharp smell of rot almost made him vomit and made every instinct scream in union ‘RUN! DANGER!’

“Guess we found it… now what?” Jesse said as he lifted most of the rot up into his hands.

_Fire_

“Fire?”

_Cleanse it with fire! It’s the only way to break the curse!_

“Good thing I smoke, huh?” Jesse joked dryly.

A lighter and the rotted garbage went up into flames easily, smelling like a rotted bag of lawn clippings and compost set to flame. Smoked quite a bit too, but as more and more of the thing burned, the more and more the sense of absolute danger lessened until everything was quiet again. When there was nothing but ash, Jesse scrambled them before checking up on Hanzo.

Hanzo was still… not doing hot. But his breathing was better and when Jesse pried open one of his eyelids, his pupils dilated just a bit more.

“Thank gods,” Jesse sighed.

_It’s not over, honored mate._

Jesse turned to look at the wolves, staring at him impassively but their tails twitching and their body language reading as nervous and twitchy.

_The room, nay, this nest has has been poisoned by the curse and needs to be cleansed. The master needs to leave this place. Now._

“I can hardly run away--”

_We can inform our fellow spirits of your departure. We already have. Now. FLEE!_

Jesse was probably going to be angry about it later. But both the wolves hit him with their concentrated auras and Jesse was struck with perhaps the most intense need to run for his fucking life because he was in major danger. Thankfully, even in the hat drop blind panic that Hanzo’s asshole summoning spirits had put him in, Jesse grabbed Hanzo before moving. Then he transformed, later becoming even more pissed off because he had done it in _twelve seconds and that was a fucking world record and he did not even get a chance to enjoy it_ , and cleared the closest wall.

Jesse landed in a side garden, startling some patrolling guards, before every muscle tensed in his legs and he jumped again and cleared the only wall in the way and Jesse went building hopping through upper class Hanamura and the surrounding area.

* * *

“Yes, I was informed before they left, thank you for the report but please join the cleansing effort,” Atsuko said to the masked spirit guard that had approached her. “The house needs to be cleansed first and foremost before the clan head can return.”

The spirit bowed before joining the bustling rush of pretty much every person on Hanamura grounds as they tried everything possible to cleanse the curse within the very fabric of the walls. How someone had set upon them such a powerful curse, Atsuko was not sure, but she sure as shit was going to kill them when she found them. Right now her summoning spirit was leading people through the house to seek out the worst of lingering damage. Actually several Shimada summoning spirits were leading people around the house in the mad dash.

“We will likely need to move Hanzo’s room, there is very little chance that we can cleanse the room quickly enough and I do not want to risk any further harm to Hanzo’s health regardless,” Rin said as she joined her wife. “I have also informed Yuu. He will be ready for Hanzo whenever he comes home again.”

“...I don’t like this,” Atsuko sighed as she watched the chaos. “This is dark, ancient magic, it’s the only thing that could cause something like this. This is magic before gods, this is magic that gods cannot touch. There isn’t many in the world that knows this kind of magic… so of the very few people and creatures can even use this magic, who would go out of their way to try and kill Hanzo. And not only kill him, but do it slowly… _torture him_... what has Hanzo done that would warrant such a fate?”

“The only people that would have that kind of anger in them to do something so heinous is within the family, but we would not be able to use such magic without harming ourselves so… someone hired perhaps? But again… who would have that kind of evil and hate in their heart to want to do this to Hanzo…”

Atsuko sighed. She knew of only one thing that would make someone want to harm Hanzo so but… that had never been released to the public and while no one in the family had publicly been for Genji’s exile and accidental death, there was no one that had been against it as Hanzo had been. Still…

“Let us prepare make sure that Hanzo has a proper home to come back too,” Atsuko sighed softly. “It is the least that we can do.”

* * *

When Hanzo opened his eyes, he noted that the first thing that came back to him was sensations.

The smell of Jesse, the smell of cold rain and concrete and metal. The feeling of Jesse holding him close and something wrapped around the two of them. The feeling of rough concrete against the soles of his prosthetic feet. The sound of rain pouring down hard and heavy against something metal. The sound of Jesse’s steady heartbeat against his side.

When he could finally comprehend what was going on, Hanzo realized that Jesse and himself were pressed up together, Hanzo in Jesse’s lap, in a small sheltered alcove on what must have been a modestly sized building. Hanzo’s legs were left to stretch out, thus the metal scraping against concrete whenever his legs twitched. They were also both wrapped in what looked like a blanket, staving off the coolness of the rain.

“Hanzo? You with me?” Jesse said, lips brushing Hanzo’s temple.

“...Yes… what… what happened?” Hanzo groaned. His torso felt like it was overpacked with jelly and he did not want to move.

“Found out what’s been killin’ you,” Jesse said. “Old magic curse, hidden in a hidden compartment underneath our bed. I shredded it and burned it. You should be fine now but you’re little asshole summoned spirits wanted you outta the house quick like.”

Hanzo snorted weakly before turning his head to nuzzle along Jesse’s collarbone. But it made sense. There was little that could cause the damage that had been done to his organs with him being a mid tier god, let alone something that could damage him and hamper his healing abilities so much. Thankfully… it seemed to be over.

“...You don’t know how glad I am that you’re alive, hun,” Jesse said, voice heavy with emotion.

Hanzo turned and lifted his head up to kiss Jesse’s scruffy and scrunched up chin. The man’s eyes were closed and his mouth was trembling. Despite his discomfort, Hanzo twisted around until he was straddling Jesse’s lap, moving his arms to wrap around Jesse’s neck and hug him close. Jesse’s arms hesitantly wrapped around his torso before squeezing him tight, like he could slip away, as the first miserable hiccup escaped him. Hanzo kissed along Jesse’s hair.

“I am glad I am alive too, so that I may see you again, my dear husband,” Hanzo said into Jesse’s hair.

Hanzo held Jesse close as the man sniffled into his chest.

“...How long should we stay out? You’re uh… little furry assholes weren’t forth comin’ with the details,” Jesse muttered against Hanzo’s chest, squeezing him again.

“I do not know… I do not believe that either of us have our phones on--” Hanzo paused as he realized that there was something off slightly about the lap that he was sitting on. Frowning, Hanzo pulled away a little and looked down at his husband. “Jesse, are you naked?”

“Did I mention that your summonin’ spirits are right assholes and spooked me into a transformation?” Jesse gruffed.

Hanzo laughed before he could stop himself, quelling himself only when Jesse pulled back enough to pout quite cutely at him. Hanzo kissed the man’s nose in the beginning of an apology before fluffing up his wild and already mused hair.

“My apologies… I assume then this blanket is...?”

“Gift. Lady saw me runnin’ with you in my arms and recognized us from that party a bit back,” Jesse explained. “Figured there was good reason that we were runnin’ and gave this over. Said ‘Just think of her kindly’.”

“Well, that certainly is a way to garner favor, but I shall indeed think of her kindly for helping us in our time of need,” Hanzo nosed along Jesse’s hair.

“So… guess we hang out here for a bit,” Jesse huffed.

“Is that so terrible? We hardly get any time together,” Hanzo chuckled.

Jesse huffed again before hugging Hanzo closer.

Safe…

…

…?

* * *

They had to wait for the rain to stop first. 

When the heavens finally calmed down several hours after their mad temporary escape, Hanzo ended up leading a wrapped up Jesse home, chuckling at their disheveled state. Hanzo in his sleeping garments that were rumpled and splattered with rain and mud from Jesse’s mad dash and Jesse, wild and rumpled himself and currently trying to make sure that nothing was exposed with the blanket protecting his pride and shame from the world. They looked ridiculous, they looked filthy and like they had slept outside and barely protected from the rain overnight.

But for the first time in months, Hanzo actually felt physically well. His stomach was not bothering him, he was tired but not physically drained to the point that his mental health was being strained, and he had a certain energy from the whole ordeal. Some… well surely it was twisted and dark in its own sense, but someone had actually saved him. Someone came specifically to his rescue and saved his life and… well to be honest he was giddy and no person could stop him from feeling as such.

“We should shower when we get back,” Hanzo suggested as they walked hand in hand. Jesse’s other hand was clutching the blanket at his front to avoid startling anyone.

“I’m sure there’s gonna be a few dozen questions before that, hun,” Jesse said squeezing his hand.

“They can wait, we just spent a few hours on a rooftop,” Hanzo pointed out gathering up the long ends of his sleeping wearing and pulling them up out of the way of his legs to keep the already soiled edges off the mudded ground.

The house was an absolute tizzy when they got back. People were bustling and hustling every which way. But it was apparent that it was known that they had run for a good reason. Atsuko and Rin welcomed them back before sending Hanzo and Jesse to a spare room to use the bathroom to quickly clean themselves. Some fresh clothes were waiting for them when they were cleaned and warmed up, before Hanzo was immediately sent to Yuu’s office for an exam.

“You, make my job… a living nightmare,” Yuu grumbled when they showed up. The poor man had bags underneath his eyes, even the bad one, and still looked like he was wearing his sleeping clothes with a bad case of bedhead.

“What would you complain about if your life was boring?” Hanzo retorted through a smirk.

“At this point, I’d take the boring life anyway!” Yuu yelled, throwing a file at Hanzo only for it to get batted away.

Yuu scanned Hanzo every which way, took blood, a mouth swab, samples. Hanzo was sure that his teasing was getting apprehended, but figured that it was also his way of caring and fretting. They had grown up together, had their own wild child adventures together. The poor man must have been relieved that this all worked out miraculously.

“You’re… healing,” Yuu finally concluded after an hour of poking and prodding. Hanzo neatly tried to right his clothing as Yuu looked at the holoscreen with the results. “There was a lot of damage, but your healing has finally picked up and is getting stronger if what I’m reading is right. You’ll still be a bit weak for a bit but… unless someone _else_ tries to kill you, I think you’ll be fine, clan head.”

“Well that is certainly good news,” Hanzo sighed with relief. “I do wonder who wanted to kill me this time, though.”

“Well it’s old magic, so that’s a start,” Jesse spoke up.

“Certainly,” Yuu said. “We know all old magic users. In fact, we did business with one many, many years ago. I couldn’t tell you the details, before my time and all. But Atsuko could probably tell you.”

Hanzo stiffened. Not her… anyone but her…

“But right now? Hanzo, I’m grounding you to your-- er. Scratch that specific detail. But you’re grounded to a room and bed rest for a week. Doctor’s orders,” Yuu said sternly. “I’m giving your systems ample chance to heal and buff up again. No, you cannot find a way out of this. In fact, Jesse-sama, I’m putting you in charge of making sure that Hanzo rests and relaxes for the next seven-- scratch that again. Eight days, just because you’re an asshole. Respectfully, clan head.”

Hanzo scoffed but had an arm slung around his shoulders.

“Can do, doc,” Jesse smiled.

“Husband,” Hanzo groaned.

“Anyway, we’re gonna change your room,” Yuu said. “After that curse sat there for who knows how long, we don’t want to risk your health or invoke anything. Right now we have a spare bedroom that was being used for excess storage. There was a larger room but… we figured that you would not want to use… _that_ room.”

Hanzo stiffened again.

“No, that room… is not to be touched, except for cleaning,” Hanzo muttered.

“Our thoughts exactly. The room is smaller, but it has access to one of the larger general gardens and has storage space for the two of you. We shuffled the rooms to allow Jesse’s bodyguard to have a room across from your new room as well.”

Hanzo nodded, suddenly tired and wanting for simple comforts. Like laying in bed and holding his husband, or being held. Hanzo just wanted a gentle and warm touch.

“So. Bed rest, we’ll have a late breakfast sent to your room. Enjoy your week off!” Yuu smirked.

“Fine,” Hanzo sighed before taking Jesse’s hand.

“Oh wait, I got something for you, it’s private. It’s been here a few days but with everything going on, I haven’t found the time,” Yuu said, getting up and going to his cabinet of various things. Hanzo quietly asked Jesse to wait outside. When Jesse was standing outside, Yuu came out with a package.

“Only for you, would I do this,” Yuu groaned, handing it over and shoving Hanzo out of his office.

A young woman lead them to his new room, everything he and Jesse owned having been moved over as well. It was indeed smaller than Hanzo’s last room and did not have nearly as much sunlight as Hanzo wanted. But given the circumstances, Hanzo would deal with it for now and perchance have the room renovated to be better accommodating. 

While Jesse trailed after him, taking his duties very seriously, Hanzo looked around the room to further look it over.

A door lead out into one of the general gardens off to the side. Hanzo took note of the changes he would want done to it. More trees, more flowers, things like that. When that was taken care of, Hanzo stepped back inside and looked around. A thicker futon was in order, they both liked the padding, but thankfully everything else was in order. The shower and bath were large enough for two, thankfully, though the smaller space would insure that it was a tight squeeze.

“You okay, hun?” Jesse asked, shaking Hanzo from his thoughts.

“Ah yes… giving myself something to think about I suppose,” Hanzo hummed. “Something to do.”

“Speakin’ of which,” Jesse said, taking up the package from where Hanzo had set that package from Yuu down. “What’s this?”

“Not sure,” Hanzo mused, taking it from Jesse’s hand and easily cutting it open with his talons. Cracking it open so just he could see, Hanzo awkwardly smiled before excusing himself to the bathroom. Jesse softly called out behind him as he closed the door behind himself.

Giddy, Hanzo pulled out one of the first item, stripping down to just an open robe and nothing else and then slipping it on. It fit perfectly, sitting just right along his hips.

“Hun?” Jesse called.

Smirking, Hanzo opened the door and kicked it open so Jesse was treated to the sight of him. Jesse was not sure what to think at first, cocking his head and making a confused sound.

“There are three things that came with the harness,” Hanzo smirked as he turned around to let Jesse get the full view of the harness along his hips. Jesse visibly swallowed and blushed lightly when he heard what it was. Now that he had his dear husband’s attention, Hanzo pulled out the first attachment.

“Modest size, nothing special about it,” Hanzo said, holding up the first strap-on and smirking as Jesse’s face only got redder and redder.

Setting that aside, Hanzo picked up the next, grinning when Jesse let out a small sound from the back of his neck.

“Larger, though not distressingly so. But besides the slightly larger size, again not very interesting.”

The next and Hanzo got to see Jesse’s teeth find his lower lip.

“Something that admittedly was more of a gag... but... based on that look on your face…”

“Hey hun?” Jesse wheezed.

“Yes, Jesse?”

“Can I still ride your cock?”

* * *

Smut Start

* * *

Jesse very eagerly got down on his knees before Hanzo, one warm rough hand and one cool metal hand rubbing up and down his thighs as Hanzo got the third strap-on into the harness. The hungry look had butterflies brushing up against the underside of his stomach that were slowly turning into the growing warmth of arousal. It certainly did not help him when Jesse let just the tip of his tongue out to wet his lips dragging it slowly along his lower lip and making Hanzo think about what that mouth was capable of.

It took some finagling to get it in the harness, with the unusual shape, but when it was in place it stood proudly in place.

“So?” Hanzo asked, chewing on his lower lip. “What do you think?”

“I think I really want to blow you,” Jesse moaned.

“Then…?” Hanzo grinned, spreading his legs a bit more and tilting his hips towards Jesse’s mouth.

Jesse grinned up at him making him blush in turn, before sliding his hands to his hips and squeezing them briefly before letting them settle. With his hands settled, Jesse leaned forwards to press a kiss to the tip of the strap-on, pressing the base of it against Hanzo’s dick and making him groan. Setting a hand in Jesse’s hair, Hanzo watched his husband part his lips to take the tip in before slowly starting his way down.

While Hanzo might not have felt much besides the toy rocking down and grinding against his dick underneath, the visual was more then enough to make him burn with mounting arousal. Jesse going down on him, eagerly moving his lips and tongue, the small sounds of pleasure Jesse made as he worked his way further and further down. The sound of Jesse’s wet mouth moving, sucking and mouth at the strap-on. Unsteady fingers combed through Jesse’s hair, encouraging him to keep doing that, just keep doing it.

Jesse was stopped by the flared knot of the strap-on, though he kept himself down the length that he had worked down at, tongue worked along the underside of the slightly awkward lump of sculpted silicone. It made Hanzo shudder and rock his hips towards Jesse’s mouth just a bit. The hands on his hips squeezed before one trailed away, moving to the toy for a second and then the base. Hanzo spread his legs a bit more, letting Jesse wriggle his fingers into the harness and to the base of the toy. There was a moment of fumbling, Jesse far too content to have the toy in his mouth to pull away and his fingers just blindly looking for the switch (and slyly brushing against Hanzo’s dick to make him buck more).

When Jesse’s fingers found the switch, a small raised bump, it was pressed and the base started vibrating. A deep moan escaped Hanzo’s chest as the vibrations rumbled against him and Jesse went back to working his mouth. Hanzo could feel his cum start to gather and then start dribbling down the inside of his thighs.

“Jesse,” Hanzo groaned.

Jesse pulled off with a wet pop. “Too much for you, snapdragon?”

“No… I don’t want it to end so soon,” Hanzo said, dragging a thumb down to Jesse’s slightly swollen lower lip to smear some of the spit still shining on it. Jesse sucked his thumb into his mouth and ran his tongue along it in a way that was nothing short of sinful and made Hanzo groan again and made him quickly pull his thumb out when he started clenching.

Jesse needed some help to get to his feet, muttering through a half grin about his poor knees and making Hanzo kiss his silly face. While Jesse pressed his hands against the small of his back to stretch, Hanzo grabbed the bottle of lube that came with the package. Thicker and less prone to drying out. When Hanzo turned to Jesse, seeing his husband stretching while leaning against the counter gave him a devilish idea. Smirking, Hanzo stepped up behind his dear husband, pressing himself against the man’s back and feeling the man jump slightly.

“My dear husband, do you need to do any prep beforehand?” Hanzo purred against the space between Jesse’s shoulder blades.

“Uh… n-no…” Jesse breathed, “Got all clean earlier…”

“Hmm, perfect. Do me a favor and lean forward?”

Jesse moaned, leaning forward while putting his hands on the counter and giving Hanzo a much better vantage. Pressing kisses along Jesse’s back, Hanzo opened the bottle with one hand and poured a generous helping of lube one a few fingers of his other hand. Gently Hanzo murmured a warning that he was going to touch Jesse, before his fingers gently pressed against Jesse’s lower back, briefly pressing against the skin before dragging downwards.

Fingers dragged along the skin achingly slowly, drawing circles in the skin before dipping down against the start of the dip of the skin. Jesse sucked in a breath and groaned when Hanzo’s fingers dipped further.

“Good?” Hanzo asked softly against Jesse’s skin.

“Yeah, just… calloused fingers… really nice,” Jesse moaned.

Smirking, Hanzo took his time dragging his fingers downwards, lazily kissing Jesse’s skin. When his fingers brushed against what they were looking for, Jesse shuddered hard underneath Hanzo’s lips.

“Still good?”

“Yeah… been a minute…”

“I shall be loving and through then…”

Jesse moaned at that.

Hanzo was slow and cautious. First using his slippery fingers to get Jesse used to his touch, rubbing against the skin while Jesse shook and shuddered. Upon relaxing, Hanzo started rubbing and grinding his fingers, putting more pressure into his movements. Carefully and slowly and tenderly and lovingly, Hanzo gradually increased what he did preparing Jesse while kissing along his back. Lips grazing along dark and freckled and scarred and hair dusted skin.

“Hmm, Jesse,” Hanzo groaned against Jesse’s shoulder blade.

Grinding the toy against Jesse’s leg kept himself ready and eager as he worked his finger and then fingers in and out of Jesse. The taste of Jesse’s skin got progressively sweaty as Hanzo kissed along the lovely skin, alternating between his lips, teeth and tongue with growing aggression as Jesse kept making those amazing little noises. Jesse groaned when Hanzo dragged his his tongue and teeth along the back of his neck.

When three fingers slid neatly in and out of Jesse, Hanzo gently and slowly pulled his fingers out before pressing a firm kiss between Jesse’s shoulders again.

“Are you good? May I proceed?”

“Oh yeah, I’m ready for ya,” Jesse panted.

“How do you wish to do this? Do you wish to return to the bedroom?”

Jesse nodded as he continued to breathe heavily. Hanzo turned Jesse to kiss his panting mouth before pulling him into the bedroom. Hanzo briefly noted that there was a covered tray sitting by the door, someone having delivered breakfast at some point before encouraging Jesse to bed; Only to be surprised when Jesse caught his arm to kiss him and then gave him a push. Hanzo fell softly and landed on his back on the bed. Hanzo looked up at Jesse as the man straddled his lap, grinning broadly at him while blushing a deep and lovely red color as the weight of his husband settled nicely on him. Hands found Jesse’s hips as the man reached behind him to aim the strap-on before slowly sinking down, grinding the toy down against himself in the process.

“Oh babydoll,” Jesse moaned as he slowly rocked his hips down, grinding against against Hanzo with each. Hanzo tightened with his quickly approaching orgasm, the site killing him above all else. When Jesse had suggested it, Hanzo could never imagine that it was would be this… erotic. A rumbling moan escaped Hanzo as he rocked his hips up into Jesse to bottom out faster.

Jesse did short rolls of his hips to get used to the feeling of being fucked. Huffing and panting when it got easier on him, Jesse hunched over and put two hands on either side of Hanzo’s head, the man’s face so tantalizingly close. His husband was so tempting but seeing him like this was killing Hanzo to just not smother in affection and touch and roll his hips up into him hard and fast. Hanzo’s fingers bit into the softness at Jesse’s hips as he rocked up faster and needier into him and practically punched the air out of Jesse’s lungs based on how sweet and breathless he went.

“E-easy ‘bout the knot,” Jesse panted.

They had apparently made it to where the knot would press against Jesse’s ass with every thrust. As much as Hanzo wanted the sensation of popping that knot into Jesse and locking them together, Hanzo eased back just enough but desperately wanting the wild thrusting back. He was close, he could feel how wet he was underneath the toy and harness, how he clenched up.

“Fuck, hun, can’t…” Jesse panted in short rough bursts.

Hanzo lost it and bodily thrusted his hips up into Jesse, hard enough to lift Jesse off of the ground where he was kneeling and drawing a surprised shout of the man. Hanzo let them fall before grabbing Jesse’s face and pulling him down in for a hard and sloppy kiss as he rutted up into the man to ride out his orgasm he sucked the man’s breath from his lungs. Jesse mewled against his mouth shuddering against his hold. It took a few moments for them to slow and settle, falling into a mushy pile of loose limbs and still kissing languidly.

It took a moment for Hanzo to feel the cooling stickiness on his chest. When he finally pulled away from Jesse’s mouth, he looked down at his chest to see the spend on his skin, smirking that he had made his husband cum. Hanzo gently kissed Jesse’s sweaty and red face, hands running reverently over any and all skin of Jesse’s that he could reach. When Jesse had caught his breath, Hanzo tried to pull away only to realize that they were… locked.

“...Um…”

Jesse snorted before laughing at their predicament, Hanzo laughing with him until there were tears in his eyes and he was wheezing for breath. They laughed and laughed until the chuckles died down and they just lovingly looked upon each other.

“So uh…”

“Relax and I will gently ease it out.”

They still found it within themselves to laugh at each other as they gently coaxed the knot out of Jesse. When it ‘popped’ they wailed with laughter and Hanzo ended up actually crying with laughter as Jesse burned to his furry ear tips (when had he half transformed?). Jesse kissed and nosed at his own furry ears (when had _he_ half transformed?). Before Jesse cupped his face and lovingly kissed him.

“Was that fun, dear husband?” Hanzo purred against Jesse’s smiling mouth.

“Oh hun, if we don’t do that often I’ll be disappointed,” Jesse sighed contently.

* * *

Smut End

* * *

They got into the shower and pampered each other with gentle touches. Undoubtedly partly because both were still reeling from saving Hanzo’s life. When they were all cleaned they got into the bath and soaked in gentle warmth and gentle affections until they felt that they needed to get out to get dressed and eat something. Though now it was more like lunch then late breakfast… and a cold breakfast because of their fun. They laughed again.

“Hey moonpie?” Jesse asked as they ate.

“Hmm?”

“Do your hubby a big favor and let’s have a borin’ ass week?” Jesse smiled.

“For you, anything,” Hanzo smiled before giving Jesse’s smile crinkled cheek a much needed kiss.

* * *

[Connecting…]  
[Connecting…]  
[Connecting…]

[Hacker5Lyfe: que?]  
[Soldier 76: Sorry but I wanted to let you know we figured out what was killing Hanzo]  
[Soldier 76: Old magic curse rotting his insides]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: Well that’ll certainly do it. I’ll keep it so Moira doesn’t find out]  
[Soldier 76: Hows the things on your end]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: Slow… very slow… since Hanzo started cracking the whip they’ve gotten better at hiding their shit so it’s taking just a few seconds more to track their shit before it ‘turns up’ in someone’s email.]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: Still making progress but the one thing that would kick things into high gear is if Genji will reveal himself OR if Moira will slip up and Hanzo starts doubting her more]  
[Soldier 76: Why the fuck does Hanzo keep her around]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: Debt. As far as anyone knows she kept the clan head alive for as long as he did live. But… actually that doesn’t make sense. Hanzo isn’t like that…]  
[Hacker5Lyfe: Why the fuck does he keep her around?]


	12. Everyone's Schemin' and Plottin' -(nsfw)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Nefarious plotting and scheming, language, mentions of bad mental mentions, mentions of possibilities of miscarriage (very much a brief, briefly mentioned possibility), mentioned possible trans male pregnancy, mentioned past torture/maiming, mentioned past limb removal
> 
> NSFW WARNING: Oral sex, fingering, barebacking, penetrative sex, bottom trans character, multiple orgasms

Right out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Now, before shit inevitably went sideways for Jesse and his rotten luck yet again, he had had a pleasant eight day reprieve as he watched over Hanzo. Even if truthfully, Hanzo only needed three days to be up to snuff and groused the last five days playfully about how much must have been piling up while he was away.

When Hanzo’s insides and systems were not compromised, the man was terrifyingly strong. Even holding in his aura, Jesse got a powerful background note of magic on Hanzo that grew with each day. Whatever was killing Hanzo had made him weak as a newborn calf and now that his body was knitting back the damage done to him? Well it took a few days for Jesse to fight down the rising goosebumps and remind the more primitive parts of his mind that Hanzo was an ally and not the scariest predator to walk this earth waiting to eat him.

Also that when Hanzo was not in constant pain or discomfort, that the man was quite the upbeat joker. Hanzo had a lot of dumb little jokes that had Jesse wheezing with laughter, not to mention himself. And even if he was not being playful and just being quiet and to himself, there was a skip of energy in his step and a sort of calm aura about him instead of intense and prickly.

Jesse also found out about a bit more about Hanzo’s family… and what plagued it.

A young little lady came by on the sixth day and told Hanzo that his cousin had come by. Hanzo, being energized by healing, quickly got up to go greet this cousin.

“She does business of a smaller scale in Europe, especially France and Spain and Britain,” Hanzo explained to Jesse as they went to one of the little tea rooms. “She is not at home as often as anyone would like. I would like for her to be home more often, especially her--”

They entered the room and Jesse immediately lit up.

“Pups!”

A tired woman was currently scrubbing a lot of makeup off her face looked up from her compact, one cleaned off eye and the other with a dazzling gold smokey eye and eyeliner sharp enough to kill a man. The two pups that had been sitting at her hips quietly but fussy like, suddenly bounded up at Jesse’s coo and rushed over to inspect him.

“Ah, hello cousin, good to see you again,” The woman said before using her compact to scrub at more of the makeup.

“Still not enjoying yourself?” Hanzo asked softly, sitting across from here as Jesse seemed lost in the pups cautiously sniffing at his legs.

“I enjoy business, I enjoy negotiating, I enjoy contracts and writing them, I enjoy numbers. I do enjoy the business side of business, but the public bits can bite me,” She snapped, shutting her compact sharply. With a sigh, she used a bit of magic to cleanse her face, showing off the handsome Shimada angles and nose. “I needed a break and I’m supposed to be doing something in town tonight so…”

“You are always welcome home, Natsuki.”

“I also heard about the wedding,” Natsuki grinned crookedly before looking sideways at Jesse who now had two pups in his arms as they patted at his beard and hair. “And might I say… Wow.”

“Oh hush,” Hanzo chuckled.

“I never knew you of all people had a type. And before you give me ‘I don’t have a type’, my dear cousin, respectfully, that man is ‘a type’ alright,” Natsuki smirked.

Hanzo frowned playfully at her.

“Also I wanted to know that since you took a husband if…”

“No. My health has been extremely poor the past few months. Yuu was certain that any attempt would lead to a worsening of my health or a unhealthy or dead pup,” Hanzo sighed. “Recently my health has been improving but… I do not not know if I’m ready. Physically or mentally.”

Natsuki nodded before peering over at Jesse, whom was currently nuzzling against the head of one giggly pup while the other eagerly waited their turn.

“Well, if I were to make the bold assumption, cousin, I’d say he’d probably a good mate to have should you choose to do it,” Natuski offered.

“... yes… and if I were to pick a person, I would want it to be Jesse. In the short time that I have known him I… have grown quiet fond of him,” Hanzo smiled.

“Ohhhh?” Natuski teased.

“Yes, no hush,” Hanzo smirked.

“Speaking of fond, I must say, you are quite good with pups,” Natuski smirked, raising her voice to get Jesse’s otherwise attention.

“Was a big brother for a bit to my younger sister, always loved playing with her,” Jesse grinned.

“It is a good attribute to have. Too long has Shimada blood been lacking in pack instincts. If nothing else, they might learn something from watching you, my dear,” Natsuki chuckled sweetly. “Forget our godhood, it seems that the more the years march on, the more we abandon being wolves and more like humans.”

“Cousin,” Hanzo snapped.

“Are you saying it’s not true, clan head?” Natsuki shot right back. “We’re getting weaker and weaker. We’ve all but lost our wolven habits. We no longer seek the company of our pack, we are crueler and colder to our children each year. Even the ability to shapeshift. They bitch and moan that the newer children can’t and they themselves can’t force more then one or two transformations out of themselves a year.”

“...I know,” Hanzo sighed shoulders sagging with a great invisible weight.

“Quiet honestly the only reason I think some of us haven’t is because we’re not in this suffocating house. We live as Okami outside of these walls.”

“Natuski.”

The air temperature dropped and for a moment, Jesse could not breathe. It was just a little flare up of Hanzo’s predatory aura, Jesse knew that. But even Jesse could not take it and his body froze completely on instinct. Hanzo only caught himself when the pups started crying, startled as well and doing the first thing that instinct said would save them. Natsuki gently calmed them and reassured them that all was well. The miserable sniffling made Hanzo look _devastated > by what he had done. But... Hanzo just hardened his face and started firmly at his cousin._

“I am well aware of the decay of our family. I am… trying to save it. That is all I can say, cousin.”

“... very well. I am sorry to incur your wrath, cousin. I will leave you for now.”

Natsuki gathered her pups up, bowed and then left. When the door clicked shut, Jesse turned to Hanzo only to see a broken man looking at his hands.

“Honey?” Jesse tried softly.

“...I think it would be wise for you to assist Rin today, McCree.”

* * *

“Do not take it to heart, Jesse,” Rin reassured a pouting and worried Jesse as he miserably look over the files set before him. Finance reports, ones that did not even matter and only furthered Jesse’s bad mood.

“Hanzo has always… he… he didn’t mean anything by it. He just wanted to be alone,” Rin finished.

“I know but…”

“I know. But part of a relationship is sometimes asking for elbow room to deal with ugly things. Hanzo probably didn’t want to lash out of you unjustly is all. Natuski-san… bless her but she is still as blunt and inciting as always. You would think that her wife giving birth to her pups would mellow her out but… she has always been something of a radical of the family. She would rather be heard then care what her words do.”

“Is it true…”

“If Natuski said it, then maybe not--”

“You’re not just losin’ your godhood, but also your wolf nature?”

“... Jesse…”

“I know. Saw it a few times out in the world. ‘Unnatural Nature Abandonment’. A couple of non-humans did that when we were revealed. Stopped being them out of sheer fuckin’ will and became human or mostly human. But… why do it here… why do it and then turn around and go ‘fuck, didn’t mean to do that!’?”

“... I wish I had the answers.”

“When was the last time you transformed?”

“...I haven’t… in several years,” Rin admitted.

Jesse turned back to the files.

* * *

Getting tossed into the fire did not happen for a few days.

Jesse was minding his own business, playing cards with a slightly reluctant Soldier 76 outside while trying to enjoy the last of summer before it started getting cold. Time sure was inching by and Jesse wondered how his first autumn and winter with Hanzo would go. Soon, Jesse would shed his summer coat to grow his winter coat, his hair getting thicker in his human form and even more wild and untamed to match. Jesse wondered if Okami did the same and thought of Hanzo was thicker and longer hair with a flutter in his heart.

Jesse was winning, only because 76 was sort of just going through the motions when the yelling started. Jesse did not let it stop him, throwing a move to keep 76 playing, but listening in regardless. It seemed that some of the toothless wolves were yelling, too loudly and too quickly for Jesse to catch most of it, but apparently they were trying to push Hanzo to do something. Jesse caught Yuu’s voice in the mix, Jesse could distinct catch him yelling ‘THEN WHY THE FUCK AM I HERE?’ and figured that they were trying to get his okay to proceed or ignoring Yuu’s warnings as always.

Worried about the combination of those words, Jesse gathered up the cards and motioned for 76 to follow, far too gratefully for Jesse’s taste but he would let the old grump get away with it, before tracking down Hanzo. Hanzo’s scent and voice was not where the yelling was coming from unsurprisingly as Jesse was sure that the man would be howling up a violent storm if he were. Using his nose, Jesse tracked down the familiar and lovely scent of his husband and found him in his office, hunched over reports.

“Ah, hello Jesse, how can I help you?” Hanzo smiled, looking up from his dull work.

“I really hate to be the bearer of bad news, angel…”

Hanzo did not like that there was a meeting calling without him (or his permission apparently based on his look of shock and then anger that crossed his handsome face). Did not like it one bit, as the man got up and stalked to the source of yelling voices. There was a panicked hush before Hanzo threw open the door to one of the many empty rooms of Hanamura and glared at the assembled old fangless wolves (and Yuu) before him.

“What. Is. The. Meaning. Of. This,” Hanzo stressed between his brandished fangs.

A few people started spouting something, fluttering and fast paced words unable to be processed in Jesse’s ears, before Yuu just loudly sighed and caught Hanzo’s eye.

“They want you to carry now, clan head.”

Oh fuck.

“What?” Hanzo growled. His aura was leaking out and the room was getting chillier and chillier as it suffocated the aura and scents of the old wolves.

“C-clan head, respectfully you father and grandfather both had fathered pups when they were in the median age. You’re quickly approaching the end of the median age and yet still you do not grace the clan with an heir,” Someone started only for a glare to shut them up.

“We are right for wanting a future secured for the clan.” Hideki, of fucking course he was here. Despite Jesse’s wanting to get along with everyone, the man was just bound and determined to be fucking hated. “And since you’re the one that insisted that we started cross breeding with non-Okami, why not be the first to grace the clan with a mixed breed pup?”

That actually warranted a strike, Hideki getting a well deserved knuckle sandwich to the nose and left flat out on the ground with a broken and bleeding nose. Everyone suddenly had somewhere else to look, anywhere besides the red of Hanzo’s knuckles or Hideki’s crumbled shape on the floor. The smell of blood made prey goosebumps break out across Jesse’s skin.

“And besides any shit argument you assholes can come up with,” Yuu said, drawing attention back to him. “Hanzo is only about two weeks recovered from a curse that was almost lethal. Can you give him time to heal from that at least before you start breathing down his neck? Or am I just a pretty face that spouts words at this point instead being regarded as the family doctor?”

There was a quiet mumbling before Yuu loudly and rudely sighed before standing and leaving. Hanzo stayed to yell at his elder some more, something that Jesse hoped made them all burn with embarrassment and tremble with fear for days, before trailing after Yuu.

“You okay?” Jesse ventured after they had walked some.

“Yeah, yeah, just the same shit as always,” Yuu sighed.

“...So they really want him to have a pup?” Jesse muttered, feeling bad for even mentioning it.

“Yes. And while we all would like an heir to the clan, they keep skipping over delicate details,” Yuu groaned. “Such as, Hanzo is still recovering from that assassination attempt. Not to mention his mental health is absolute shit. It’s better than what it was several months ago, but it’s still shit. And the fact that he would either need to carry the pup himself or we would need to get a surrogate mother and those old traditional assholes would kick up a fuss either way because nothing’s good enough--!”

Jesse laid a hand on the man’s shoulder. Yuu’s angry diatribe stuttered and stopped and the man finally drew in a ragged breath, relaxing clenched up muscles and wriggling his fingers to pop the locked joints and make his talons pop back in.

“You don’t want him too… right?” Yuu asked with a heavy sigh.

“I wouldn’t make Hanzo do anything he didn’t want too. And if he doesn’t want pups, then I sure as hell ain’t gonna gang up on him like everyone else,” McCree said firmly, squeezing Yuu’s shoulder.

“... McCree you are the most decent person I have met in recent years and I can only say I have been around family too much and my standard for sentient life is way too goddamn low,” Yuu tiredly sighed, rubbing his tired eyes.

“...Hey Yuu, got a question.”

“Yes?

“When was the last time you transformed?”

“Gods above… um… two years ago?” Yuu groaned, dragging his hand down his face, making the scar rippled skin pull oddly on the bones of his face. “We’ve all been too busy or too tired to actually ‘wolf out’.”

Jesse chewed on his lip.

* * *

“There’s somethin’ goin’ on around here g-man… I think someone is trying to force the clan to face U.N.A.”

“Unnatural nature abandonment? Wouldn’t that take hundreds of years though?” Genji retorted.

They were sitting in Genji and 76’s room. 76 was agitated and it was rolling off of him in waves so Jesse focused on Genji.

“A lot of people haven’t transformed in years and they’re remarkin’ that it’s difficult to even attempt,” Jesse shot back. “You’re aunties haven’t transformed in about eight years. Yuu and his spouse is about three. Most of the elders in about ten. Gods, you’re brother hasn’t in over twenty.”

“... This is unusual and not good,” Genji relented, scratching at his scarred chin in thought. “... U.N.A has no easy fix, Jesse.”

“I mean we could force everyone to wolf out but yeah… The best we can do is get Yuu riled up and start yellin’. Everythin’ starts with a lil noise, after all,” Jesse sighed.

“... You said that my brother hasn’t transformed in over twenty years?” Genji asked after a moment.

“Yeah?”

“But he’s strong…”

“G-man?”

“... It’s nothing, but I will need to look into something. Tell me, does Hanzo always wear anything unusual? Metal and intricately marked or carved?”

“Well there are his legs? Prosthetics? He can take them off I think though, though they hardly stray too far from him--”

“There is something that I need to look into immediately, Jesse. Please excuse me.”

Genji was gone. And Jesse was left with mounting nerves and anxiety.

* * *

A week passed without much fanfare. Hanzo recovered and acted well enough. 

Except on their own.

Hanzo seemed to always remember what his family wanted of him and was hesitant to seek or give anything more than a peck on the cheek, a brush of their hands. Shying away from everything else or stopping himself muttering an excuse to get away. When it came to sleeping at night, Hanzo either slept a hand’s length away or just barely touching his back.

Not that Jesse blamed Hanzo of course, also telling him that it was alright and okay and that he was not offended. Hanzo was just on edge now that they knew that the family were pushing him to have a pup. That was too much to push on the man and Jesse was more than happy to make sure that he was not not one of the asshole pushing on Hanzo’s already delicate mental health. Jesse gave the man his much needed space and soothed him over when he started muttering about how awful of a husband that he was being.

Besides that, not much happened.

That was, until, Hanzo was called into a meeting at the crack of dawn and did not return until the sun had set.

When Hanzo had finally come back to bed, the man stepped into the room. Closed the door. Stood tall and proud for all of a minute. And then collapsed to the floor with his face in his hands and shaking like a leaf in a storm. When Jesse rushed over to him, he only muttered:

“They win again. They always win.”

* * *

Now, Jesse knew a little of a lot of stuff. Gabe always said that he was more wisdom than intellect, more acting knowledge then book knowledge. Which was just fine by Jesse, he was not the kind of person to go out of his way to learn something that he could not use for survival or living. When he was a packless pup, it had saved him. When he was an angry teenager and young adult, it had further saved him. After that it had become a bad habit. Even now as he was getting older, he still fought that habit. Even getting his degrees had been hampered by it.

Now Jesse wished he had volunteered in the clinics when Angela was interning with Overwatch and learned a few things.

“The kitchen staff has been alerted and your diet is changing effective today,” Yuu rattled off, his voice sounding like he was more listing off the details of a funeral. Based on the look on Hanzo’s and Yuu’s face, they both would have preferred to be discussing a funeral. “I will also be doing weekly check ups on your health.”

Hanzo nodded numbly. His eyes were still bloodshot and the bruises underneath his eyes from not sleeping and balling his eyes out all night were still far too prominent for Jesse’s liking. The hand that Hanzo was holding barely felt the grip of those fingers that Jesse knew could easily snap his fingers like dry twigs.

“To be extra cautious, I have enlisted outside help. Moira is not happy but… when is that hag ever?” Yuu sighed.

Again Hanzo nodded.

“You both are being taken off your contraceptives effective today. In accordance with family wishes I will not give you more nor will I be able to give you condoms…” Yuu suddenly stopped, breathed out raggedly like his lungs were quaking in his chest, pausing to rub a hand over his face. “This is bullshit and the fact that they’re using me to do this is bullshit and… I’m so fucking sorry Hanzo, I’m so sorry.”

Hanzo had nothing to say.

Jesse did not blame him.

Hanzo slept curled around Jesse’s back that night and it felt like he might as well have slept in different room.

* * *

The outside help came a few days later. And Jesse had been in too much of a worried and miserable haze to really worry about this outside help on top of everything else. But when he trailed after Hanzo to go greet this person, the worry hit him hard and fast and Jesse wondered if Genji was too busy to quickly look this person up for him. The man had been rather absent the past few days and any glimpses of the man made Jesse pause. Something about the sag of his shoulders suggested bad shit.

They were to meet this person in a room with some of the big names of the family. Jesse could feel himself sweating underneath his collar of his nice shirt. Who could it be? Yuu picked them out so they had to be at the very least halfway decent person overall. But what if the person killing the family got someone in Yuu’s good graces? What if it was someone that only appeared decent but really had a vendetta against the family or Hanzo?

After several moments of waiting for them (apparently traffic was rough and the plane ride over had been delayed because of storms), the door rattled and then slid open. 

Jesse panicked for all of five seconds before he recognized the scent that came in before them. The unearthly smell laced with the smell of soft clean feathers, gentle hand soap and coffee. He actually cracked a smile at the familiar blonde haired doctor that stepped inside the room, knowing that angelic scent anywhere.

“Greetings,” Angela said, dipping down into a respectful bow and then gracefully righting herself. “My name is Angela Ziegler. My thanks for hiring me. I look forward to working with the Shimada family. Please take care of me.”

“Ver--” Yuu started.

“What qualifications do you have?” Hideki snapped suddenly.

“Excuse me?” Angela said, that familiar dark look passing over her eyes.

“What makes you think that you are qualified to work with the Shimada family? We are an ancient family with a proud lineage. And what are you? You smell human, so you experience is surely--”

“Here it comes,” Jesse smirked, feeling the what could only be described as electrified hot vapor on his tongue. A forewarning that Angela’s glamor was slipping. 

Hideki suddenly stepped back as Angela’s form fluidly expanded to seven feet. The broken circle of bone that was once a shiny and glowing halo, now dull and dingy like ancient stone, formed from her temples. Her two pairs of damaged, burned and singed wings slipped out of her back and almost slammed into the two walls on either side of her, an almost full fifteen feet and that was pulling her wings back _a lot_. Pale blonde hair was replaced with burning golden fire and pale eyes framed by the same stuff, paled over.

“I have been practising medicine since I fell, _pup_ ,” Angela said, her terrifying angelic voice mixing with her glamorized voice. The overlapping of chorus like sounds broken by growls of her Fallen nature. “And that was well over two thousand years ago. If I am right, your ‘proud’ lineage was still rather baby fresh and new about that time. While I understand this is a delicate manner and I am a guest in this house, I will not take questions about the skills I have continuously sharpened and perfected for the past two millennia from a creature that is barely a tenth of my age.”

Hideki looked ready to pass out. Angela’s aura was like that, like all angels maybe, even powerful folks could hardly stand targeted celestial aura and keep standing. Actually… now that Jesse thought about that… Hideki could also probably end up really sick or even dead if Angela focused a bit too hard and while Jesse was no fan of the man… it would be more productive to earn the man’s favor then the opposers against his person’s confirmed ire. So carefully, Jesse stood up and loudly cleared his throat.

“I’m sure he didn’t mean that too harshly, Dr. Ziegler. We’re all just stressed about this and we all want what’s best for the family, right Hideki-san?”

It took a second for his voice to break through the thick crust of activated prey instincts, but Hideki nodded.

“Now, while you didn’t mean it so meanly, it would probably be best if you apologized? After all, Dr. Ziegler is gonna look after the family head and we wouldn’t want her to think us unruly or ungrateful for her skills?” Jesse offered slowly.

Hideki’s throat bulged with the effort to swallow before the man inclined his head.

“M-my apologies for offending you, Dr. Zeigler. It was… cruel of me,” Hideki stuttered out.

Angela snapped back, leaving the air shocked and left some of the family members reeling. Celestial magic sure was a hootenanny like that. A different kind of magic that not everyone encountered because Risen and Fallen celestials often hid from everyone out of shame or pride on either side. Even after all these years, it still left even Jesse feeling a little shell shocked.

“And my apologies for lashing out as I did,” Angela said, bowing again. “But I assure you. I am perhaps one of the most qualified people out there for this sort of thing and I want nothing but to help. I may be Fallen, but I am not corrupted.”

“That means she can morally, and is physically capable, of laying hands,” Yuu said, having recovered from Angela’s little slip up. “Would anyone else like to invite a fight? No? No? Good on you lot finally showing common sense. Now, Dr. Ziegler, I shall show you my office and the necessary files. Please follow me.”

Angela followed after Yuu, not sparing Jesse a glance but everyone was looking. He would get a chance to chat her up safely later. For now Jesse could rest easy.

* * *

“Vitals are good. Strong across the board,” Angela said as she looked at Hanzo’s chart on her holo-ad. “Magic is stronger then I would like but I see signs of U.N.A so it is fine for now. Signs of depression evident but patient refuses therapy and medication?”

“Yes… what causes it is... “ Yuu said as he watched Angela work. It was fascinating to watch this creature that had been practising medicine longer then himself and his now retired father combined. Just looking at the raw data she was catching things at a glance.

“Hmm. Physically, I would say Hanzo barely passes for a healthy carrier. He could carry with minimal risk, but his mental health, based on your psychological reports and just looking at his blood work, will take a large hit. I highly recommend therapy or medication to target his depression. I can recommend several pregnancy safe ones,” Angela said.

“I don’t know if he’ll--”

“His mental health will sink. The patterns are there. He will have ‘baby blues’ and if his mental health declines enough, his physical health will decline as well and this will greatly increase the risk to the potential pup,” Angela said, not looking up as she scrolled through the data.

“Right, I’ll add that to the vitamin regiment and see if he notices,” Yuu grunted before pausing. “Wait, antidepressants will affect his sex drive. We sort of need them to… you know…”

“Having a lot of intercourse does increase chances, yes,” Angela said. Yuu sputtered at her bluntness, deciding that he greatly liked her more for it. “However, Master Shimada’s health is key. There are several things we can do to ensure that even if there are few chances, that they are damned good chances. Such as, did you know, in canine non-humans, there is a gene that when hit with the right chemicals, can greatly increase or decrease virility?”

“Yes? It ties into our old mating habits.”

“Yes, those are still there even if canine non-humans no longer experience mating seasons like the base ancestors of their DNA. We just need to hit it with the right chemical markers and they hit a sort of mating season chemistry. At the very least both will experience higher virility to make up for the likely drop in Hanzo’s sex drive.”

“That makes sense… I’ll see about getting Hanzo to agree to going to therapy,” Yuu muttered.

“Unless you know of another way that improves Hanzo’s mood?” Angela suggested.

“Being around his husband, being allowed to go outside for more than an hour or to do business. Being allowed to take his prosthetics off besides a few hours at a time in his room,” Yuu grumbled.

“Then medically, I suggest he do such things,” Angela said.

“I wish we--”

“If Hanzo’s mental health does not improve, his likelihood to develop issues relating to his health increase fifty seven point six percent. If Hanzo’s mental health suffers enough, his likelihood to harm himself or the pup increase forty three point two percent,” Angela said before flicking something on her screen. Yuu’s holopad beeped cheerfully. “The math and science behind that.”

“...Huh,” Yuu pondered as he looked it over.

“Now, speaking of husband,” Angela said, brushing the data on screen aside and pulling up Jesse’s data. “Healthy for a werewolf his age. Vitals are strong. Also show signs of mental illness such as depression and based on your notes, a very strong case of PTSD. I suggest the same for Jesse as well. Hmm… his regeneration will make that difficult, I shall need to come up with a regime that can either cut through his regeneration or hamper it enough to work-- hello.”

“Huh?” Yuu asked.

“Have you examined Jesse’s eyes?”

“His vision was fine? He’s a sharpshooter so I just assumed…”

“Nothing to worry about, good doctor. I’m just seeing something in his work that suggests damage done to his eyes at one point and there might be something lingering. I will examine it and forward my findings to you,” Angela said with a shrug. “Probably lingering magic damage that needs to be cleansed. Anyway… to boost Jesse’s virility with the added antidepressants, I have several things that will add that including the hormone.”

Yuu really liked this lady.

* * *

A grizzled man with one fake arm signaled that things were changing, and changing fast.

Came by when Jesse and Hanzo were trying to settle down for the night. Both were freshly cleaned and Hanzo was just tying himself off in his robe for the evening when the heavy thumping at the door’s frame alerted them to a guest. Hanzo, expectedly sour, grunted out for them to come quickly but his expression quickly paled at the unexpected grizzled man that slid open the door. Based on a sniff, that man put off a rather potent glamor and what laid underneath was more metal and oil then flesh and blood.

“Altering the runes on your legs,” The man stated simply.

“... why?” Hanzo said, anger replacing the sudden fear, “I already cannot remove my legs outside of this room! I cannot even sleep with them off because they’re that restrictive! What more can they take from me at this point?!”

“Allow extension of time off. Also allowing removal across Shimada grounds. Doctor’s orders.”

Hanzo seemed at loss for words and at this point, Jesse was too far behind to comment. Hanzo sat down on the floor and hiked his clothing up, allowing the glamored autonamon to scratch several things along with the faint and strikingly elegant shapes carved into the surface of the metal. When it was done, the metal was sanded down to remove the sharp edges, buffed, shined, had a protective coat quickly slapped on it and the machine was gone.

It left a very confused Jesse and a equally confused Hanzo. Hanzo’s confusion lasted all of several seconds before he quickly yanked his legs off and just sort of marveled at the stumps for several very concentrated seconds. Jesse ended up scooping Hanzo up off the floor and taking him to bed.

They cuddled that night and it actually felt close and personal.

The vitamins were the next change. 

Breakfast came with more to drink and little paper cups with little pills in them. ‘Doctor’s orders’ apparently but the sweet gals getting them breakfast could not tell for the life of them what they were. Smelling them did not help because Jesse could not pick out those kind of specific chemical mixtures and put names to them. The sweet deep red one he guessed was a average vitamin, because for non-humans the chemical compounds that made those always tasted awful so work always had to be done to make them even chokable.

They did guess that at least two of them had to do with the pregnancy, because they both got two pills that mimicked two in the other’s little paper cup. But since neither of them were any good with medicine and figured that if both the good doctors were finally getting away with improving shit around the house, they might as well follow their orders. Still tasted bad and they had to call for something more to wash the vile taste out of their mouths.

Did not really notice anything until Jesse realized that Hanzo was less down then usual and realized that they had probably put him on something that helped. Hanzo probably realized it sooner, always giving that little paper cup a sour look in the morning but throwing it and its contents back regardless. Took a few more days to realize that he was given something similar because the ptsd episodes got a lot easier to deal with and the anxiety and his own lows got easier to deal with.

God ol’ Angie, plowing through the bullshit and red tape to get shit done. Damn he missed her.

But it seemed that not everything was good.

Genji managed to get him aside for the evening when he slipped into 76’s room when the man was laying down for the night.

“Hey G-man, what’s goin--”

“I… found out a great many of disturbing things, Jesse,” Genji said, pulling off his mask so Jesse could see the man’s grave face.

“What’s goin’ on, Genji?” Jesse asked softly.

“The U.N.A that the pack faces is out of a sense of grief,” Genji sighed deeply, eyes casted down. “Because of… me.”

“...Jesus what happened?”

“I told you of what happened to me? How Hanzo maimed me? Tore the summoning marks off my back and then ripped my fangs and talons out? Well… it turns out that Hanzo was supposed to just murder me,” Genji explained solemnly. “Father had ordered it but… Hanzo begged for anything but that. Anything that could save me.”

“And that was supposed to save you?!” Jesse hissed.

“Yes. I did technically survive it, after all. If Hanzo wanted to kill me he could have easily done so. But… what he did not expect me to do was run while blinded by blood-loss and pain,” Genji explained further. “He… he ran after me, Jesse.”

“Genji, I--”

“On freshly maimed legs, Jesse. He ran after me until I hit that cliff and fell into the ocean.”

“...What?”

“The price for letting me live, Jesse. The price for letting Hanzo do the exile rather then father or anyone else. Father demanded Hanzo’s legs in payment, so that he may never run or escape the clan again. His prosthetics and the prosthetic housing are meant to incapacitate him should he think of running or escaping… Jesse, he’s trapped here.”

“...Watchin’ you get your summoning marks and fangs and talons gettin’ ripped out…”

“My father was well and truly lost in his last years. He cared less for uplifting us and more controlling us. He must have realized what that display would do and thought he could control the pack if they could not fight him. He… I don’t know Jesse. But, it was because of him that the pack started decaying as it is now and I don’t think that even despite Hanzo’s best efforts, it can be saved.”

Jesse felt his heart stall in his chest and cold sweat bead at the back of his neck as his metaphorical hackles rose. Another pack--!

“We can save individuals,” Genji quickly said, grabbing Jesse’s arms and making him realize that his form was slipping based on the talons he was not sporting and the thicker hair on the back of his arms. “We can save Hanzo, Yuu, Rin, Atsuko, most of the servants and a few of the old wolves. That I am sure of. But… Jesse, can you live through losing most of a pack? Because… if you can’t I’ll let you stay until the pack breaks apart. I’ll give you that.”

“If you do that then…”

“Yes, I know. I will be killing off a lot of Shimada pack when the pack finally just collapses on itself. With the U.N.A as strong as it is in some people, it will be… easy.”

Horror flitted across Jesse’s mind as it conjured up the image of Genji’s blade slicing clean through Rin, Yuu, Atsuko… Hanzo… with ease.

“Or… we can turn this into a rescue op,” Genji quickly said, fingers digging into Jesse’s quickly growing arms, bringing Jesse’s mind out of animal panic and back to more rational thought. “We can ignore the Talon funding and start setting up to extract those that can be saved. Talon will get their resources and funds for the time being, but if we extract everyone that we can, when the pack collapses they get nothing and we get the good ones.”

“...Save some…” Jesse snarled out past wolf teeth.

“Save some or lose them all. I’m sorry, Jess, this isn’t a mission where we can save everyone. Or one where there’s a completely nice ending. But we have a chance to make the most of it,” Genji soothed.

“...” Jesse pushed down his transformation, bringing himself back.

After years of avoiding this, it seemed that destiny eventually got what it wanted from him. Half the time it seemed like his life was already written fifteen chapters ahead and there was nothing he could do to avoid the already etched in stone events before him. Overwatch, losing packs, Blackwatch and now this…

“I guess that makes me Overwatch again.”

“You can be outside help.”

“... No, if I avoid it, somethin’ else will just come up. It’s always like that…. My fate’s already decided, G-man, and fightin’ always just makes it pull harder… what do we do?”

“Well, the servants will be easy to get out. Most of them are under contract and can walk away at anytime. We can get them to join other houses and other places of employment easy enough. The older wolves can be moved away to other clan members that live outside of Japan. But people like Hanzo and my aunts and Yuu and Akira? They’ll take careful planning.”

“Well… no time like the present.”

* * *

“Hello, Mr. Shimada,” Angela said when Jesse sat in Yuu’s office. Yuu himself was out at the moment, the man busier than usual and now often running across the grounds all day. That left Jesse and Angie alone, though unsure if they could talk freely. Yuu never mentioned if there was a Silence rune in any of the walls or door.

“You can just call me Jesse, hun,” Jesse said.

“Of course. Now, I was asked to tell you some of the changes to diet and such that you have been experiencing. My apologies for not getting to you sooner, things have been rather busy and we wanted to see how a first attempt affected your systems as your regeneration is exceptional and in levels that I am not used to dealing with,” Angela said as she looked at a holopad. There were bags underneath her eyes and her breath smelled strongly of strong coffee. Working herself to death as she always did. Dedicated to her work to a fault.

“Of course.”

“Now. You are very healthy for a werewolf your age. Weight, diet, exercise, across the board you are in the peak health that a werewolf can be without hyper focusing on it. Your smoking habit is of small concern as your regeneration can cleanse any lingering damage done by it, but I recommend that as you age that you do cut back in increments as regeneration, even as potent as yours, can eventually decline. Also, I recommend smoking away from the clan head when his pregnancy occurs to prevent any even minute chance for damage to occur to the pup or the man himself.”

Jesse nodded, wishing he had a cigar to chew on at least.

“Now, you’ve been taking a vitamin regimen in the morning. These include one multi vitamin for general health. One for sexual health, as you can probably guess why and what for. One is a antidepressant. One is an anxiety and sleep aid. And two are hormone pills, one to chemically cleanse the contraceptive and one to chemically increase virility,” Angela rattled off. She finally put her holopad down and grabbed a syringe. “If I may take a blood sample to see how they are affecting your body?”

She got her blood sample and put it into one of Yuu’s little readers. She glanced over the results before frowning softly.

“It appears that the two hormone pills are not working as well as I had hoped. The others are… that is quite unusual. Hmm…” Angela stood from her chair and went over to one of the cabinets, shuffling around a bit before pulling out two bottles. “We are going to change to two other pills to see if they will affect your systems. Your regeneration is truly… a wonder, Jesse.”

“Don’t you know it, doc,” Jesse drawled out smirking when Angela playfully scowled, before innocently holding out his hand. 

She handed over the bottles while turning to her holopad as Jesse got a good whiff and grinned crookedly.

* * *

When Jesse returned to their room for the eve several days after the doctor cehck up, Hanzo beckoned him to bed. His arms slipped around Jesse’s neck when the man got himself close enough and pulled him on top into bed as he kissed him. Jesse, having be kind and caring and giving Hanzo his space, was more than a little eager to get some loving and eagerly and happily kissed him back.

He had made peace with it. Or at the very least, the peace with it being with Jesse. Hanzo could not ask for a better mate to do this with and figured if anyone could help him live through the experience, it was Jesse.

Mouthing softly at Jesse’s neck, Hanzo idly popped the buttons to Jesse’s shirt and pushed it open to reveal plans of soft dark skin and wiry hair speckled with freckles. One hand slid inside the fabric when it allowed it, dragging calloused fingers along the skin and finding the spots that made Jesse groan and grunt with mounting arousal into the quietness of their bedroom. A small and still hysterical part of Hanzo wanted to seek something to fill that void of sound, other then his mouth moving wetly at Jesse’s neck and jaw and the sound of his rough hand rubbing against Jesse’s chest hair. 

Jesse groaned before turning to kiss him proper on the mouth their beards rubbing against one another as Jesse tilted his head to kiss Hanzo deeper. His troubles melted away as Jesse just so lovingly and tenderly kissed him and those calloused hands cupped his jaw. A soft groan rumbled along Hanzo’s ribs as he melted underneath his husband, pulling him closer and more fully on top of him. With the awkward position, Hanzo had to content with pull his hand free of Jesse’s shirt, but managed to wriggle his hands between them enough to get at the buttons and simply free his husband from his shirt.

Jesse pulled away and Hanzo felt his chest deflate as he realized that Jesse was going to do the right thing and talk this sudden change in behaviour out.

“You okay, hun?”

“Yes,” He breathed, only mildly surprised by how worked he he had made himself from some touching and kissing. Languidly, he hooked his legs oer Jesse’s hips and then folded them and tightened them, pulling Jesse close and tight, feeling the heat build in his belly build at Jesse’s warm lower belly pressed against his crotch.

Hanzo thought that Jesse’s perceptiveness would pick up on something, as it always did. Jesse was a good person reader, probably could also be a good manipulator if he put his mind to it. But Jesse just eased himself onto his hands and laid back down on him, kissing him and once again reducing him to a content mushy pile underneath of him. Eager to get back into it, Hanzo put his hands in Jesse’s hair, kissing back with just as much enthusiasm forgetting about everything for a moment, simply allowing pleasure to win over thought and worry.

Jesse gently tugged his clothing off of him, sliding his hands over his skin tenderly and affectionately over all his revealed skin. Hanzo himself enjoying the pleasant scrap of deliciously calloused and hot hands against himself. A soft growl rumbled past Hanzo’s teeth when Jesse’s hands ran over his hips, slipping underneath his thighs to rub at the sensitive skin there.

Descending, Jesse carefully got free of Hanzo’s legs and kissed down the length of his body. Kisses and little playful nips and licks along his body, feeling his summoning marks prickle with just a hint of excess static when Jesse kissed along the yellow markings on his skin. When Jesse’s bearded mouth found the lines of his hips, mouthing at them and knowing that they were toying with, Hanzo arched off the bed and growled for more. His loving and doting husband obliged.

The first drag of Jesse’s tongue made him realize how he was already aching for this, almost painfully aroused as he heard the man’s tongue slide along his already wet flesh. His fingers dug into Jesse’s hair as the man eagerly wrapped his lips around his dick and started suck and lavishing his tongue over it. Tongue running over his teeth, Hanzo watched his husband’s head bob as he sucked and licked at him, strong hands grabbing Hanzo’s thighs and pressing fingers into the flesh. Hanzo’s teeth dug into his lower lip as the obscenely wet noises of Jesse’s mouth rang through the sound of their harsh panting, growling and grunting.

His first orgasm hit him hard and fast, arching off the bed and going breathless as Jesse lavished him through the throes of it before pulling off with a wet pop. There was cum in his beard and on his lips as the man was just licking it up. Hanzo pulled him down for a hungry kiss, sucking the man’s breath from his mouth.

Jesse’s fingers eased him open, slowly and tenderly and making him melt against the man as he robbed Jesse of breath. When he was ready for him, Hanzo rolled them over so he could mount the man and ride him. Bringing Jesse’s hands to his hips as he grabbed the man and guided Jesse into him. As he sank down, Jesse sounded like his breath got punched out of him and it sparked some confidence in him as he sank down to the base and sat bottomed out on Jesse’s hips.

“You’re so handsome,” Hanzo breathed.

“You too,” Jesse panted, rolling his hips up into him and robbing him of breath.

Bending forward to place his hands on either side of Jesse’s head so he could kiss the man, they rolled their hips together. His pleasure was quickly mounting again, mind blank, as he kissed his husband.breathless. Already so close to the edge, shamelessly so but enjoying it so much. Panting and clenching around the man and rocking his hips feverishly to get off faster and winding himself up tighter and hotter.

“Please,” Hanzo moaned.

“I’ve got you hun, I’ve got you,” Jesse moaned back, licking Hanzo’s lips before gripping his hips. Using his werewolf strength, Jesse rolled his hips up into him, punching the air out of his lungs and making him melt.

One of the hands on his hips strayed over to his dick and stroked it, making him arch back hard, back straightening as he came again, spasming around Jesse and pushing the man over the edge as well, based on the rough grunting and growling of the man underneath of him and the stuttered thrusting of Jesse’s hips. With a shudder, Hanzo felt his husband release fill inside of him, slowing, then stalling before gingerly pulling out and letting Hanzo flop tiredly on his chest.

Twisting his hips so that he could close his legs, Hanzo squeezed his thighs together asn the severity of the situation came down on him.

Yuu has said that the contraceptive has been flushed out of his systems this morning. This coupling could very well have placed a pup within him. Hanzo ran a hand along his stomach, shaking.

“Do you think it took?” He asked, terrified of the answer even though he knew that Jesse did not have it.

“Hun, I can guarantee it didn’t,” Jesse said, turning to kiss his hair.

“...How could you know?” Hanzo asked, feeling his face scrunch up in confusion as he lifted his head to look at Jesse.

“Let’s just say, you’re hubby is a lil bit sneaky and may or may not have figured out which of them lil’ pills they’ve been feedin’ us in the mornings were the ones supposed to make me able to knock you up,” Jesse grinned. “Let’s just say I’ve been tucking them underneath my tongue and spittin’ them out in the sink. So let’s just say that no matter how hard I tried, at this given moment in time, I couldn’t do jack shit about makin’ pups with you.”

Hanzo seemed lost for words, eyes wide and mouth softly parted as he took in what Jesse had done. For him. Jesse knew as well as Hanzo that if the family found out, they would have more then choice words for him and hell, might even have just earned himself an ass whooping. For now it was a dirty secret. One that made Hanzo’s eyes go soft as he leaned down to kiss Jesse’s very willing mouth that very eagerly kissed back.

“Words fail and pale to the love I feel for you,” Hanzo breathed against his mouth.

“Well, we know that I love you so much that I’d risk gettin’ turned into a wolf skin rug, so I love you that much and so much more, honey bee,” Jesse smiled against Hanzo’s mouth.

The man snorted, kissing Jesse’s grinning mouth before collapsing on his chest, content in more ways than one. Jesse ran his fingers through the man’s hair softly, peppering kisses into the snowy locks softly and sweetly until sleep took them both for the eve and they rested, twined in each other’s embrace.


End file.
